France, June 2 -- In a statement released on Monday, the human rights organisation accused members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman - of "indiscriminately criminalising the exchange of information" under the pretext of national security.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the arrests reflect an entrenched pattern of repression.

"These governments are exploiting the escalation in regional tensions to intensify their already suffocating grip on freedom of expression, in order to protect their pristine image as safe havens," she said.

According to Amnesty's findings, the UAE and Qatar account...