The authorities in Bahrain have ousted the editor of the kingdom's only independent newspaper, along with two of his senior colleagues.

Al-Wasat newspaper was not allowed to publish on Sunday and access to its website has been blocked inside the country. The paper has also been suffering production difficulties and has had to reduce pagination after its printing works was attacked by armed civilians last month.

On Saturday, the authorities announced the suspension of the paper on the grounds of "unprofessional and unethical practices" which include "lies, defamation and plagiarism" and the publication of "old" news.

According to the Associated Press, they have now agreed to let it resume publishing following the resignation of its editor, Mansoor al-Jamri, and two colleagues. Jamri said he was stepping down because he did not want to jeopardise the newspaper’s future and the livelihoods of its employees. "I did not want others to suffer because there's a witch hunt against me," he told AP.

Jamri, who founded al-Wasat 10 years ago, is the son of Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, a spiritual leader during the Shia uprising in the 1990s. The paper has been critical of the government in its coverage of recent protests.

Apart from al-Wasat, all the other local newspapers in Bahrain – Akhbar al-Khalij, Al-Bilad, Al-Watan and the Gulf Daily News – have close connections with the government.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 4 April 2011.