Gay Journalist Beaten in Bahrain

ABC News correspondent Miguel Marquez was beaten Wednesday while covering the protests in Bahrain, the latest scene of uprising in the Middle East.

The Huffington Post reports on the attack on Marquez, which follows widespread violence against journalists and their crews in Egypt, including CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted Friday, and Anderson Cooper of CNN.

“Reporting from Bahrain's Pearl Square in the capital city of Manama today, ABC News Correspondent Miguel Marquez suffered a beating with billy clubs while on the phone with his New York office. According to ABC, a ‘gang of thugs’ pulled Marquez's camera from his hands as he struggled to break free, shouting ‘Journalist! Journalist!’ in an effort to prove he wasn't a protester.”

On Thursday morning Marquez discussed his ordeal with the BBC World Service and said that he was not seriously harmed: “A little beat up, a little bruised, but nothing worse than the typical family vacation, I suppose.”

The attack does not appear motivated by the fact that Marquez is openly gay. Bahrain is regarded among the more tolerant places for homosexuality in the Middle East, but earlier this month as many as 200 gay men were arrested when police raided a private party.

Listen to audio of the attack on Marquez.