After nearly two years of non-stop social unrest and protests against the ruling monarchy, things have taken a precipitous turn for the worse for civil liberties in Bahrain this week. Martial law rules have been in effect in the tiny Gulf nation since late last year, but on Tuesday, the government took the remarkable step of declaring a ban on all public rallies and demonstrations–a move government spokesman, Fahad al-Binali claims is “temporary” and intended to “calm things down” after the recent deaths of protesters and police officers.