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BAHRAIN: Students required to sign pledge of allegiance to government

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The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights released a statement Sunday saying it was “deeply concerned” the country’s leading university had started requiring students to sign a pledge to support the embattled government of King Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa.

The state-run University of Bahrain in Sakhir distributed the pledges when students returned to class Sunday, and they were soon posted on Facebook and Twitter.

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Students who refuse to sign the pledge might have to withdraw, the group says.

The pledge specifies:’ I acknowledge that not signing this document means I do not wish to continue my education in the University of Bahrain.’

Students said they were required to sign and that the university had “turned into a big prison.’ University officials added metal detectors, surveillance cameras and stationed security guards at each of the school’s colleges this week, according to the leading opposition newspaper, Al-Wasat. They also have suspended many students who joined anti-government demonstrations or posted anti-government views on Facebook.

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-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo

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