Bahrain Crown Prince Meets Clinton in US
Local Editor
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has met with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington amid Manama's continued repression of anti-regime protests in the Kingdom.
Clinton warmly welcomed the crown prince to the State Department for talks on Wednesday, on a "full range of regional and bilateral issues," State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland announced in a press release issued on the department's website following the meeting.
"Clinton affirmed the long-standing commitment of the United States to a strong partnership with both the people and the government of Bahrain," Nuland also said.
The meeting came a day after the ruling al-Khalifah regime threatened to intensify its ongoing crackdown on anti-government protesters in the tiny Persian Gulf island.
On Tuesday, Bahrain vowed to crack down harder on anti-government protests as a leading opposition figure said the government had put a stop to talks on addressing the political grievances that fuelled last year's pro-democracy uprising.
Also, authorities have kept several leading activists in detention among which is Nabeel Rajab.
Amnesty International urged the government of Bahrain to "immediately" release rights activist Nabeel Rajab who was arrested over tweets deemed insulting to the government. Philip Luther, head of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty, called Rajab "a prisoner of conscience [who] must be immediately and unconditionally released." Additionally, a Bahrain court adjourned for two weeks the retrial of 21 opposition figures accused of plotting to overthrow the government, a group that includes Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Lawyers for some of the defendants complained that their clients had faced abuse in custody and been forced to sign confessions.
In mid-March 2011, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military equipment and troops to Bahrain upon a request from Manama to help quash the anti-regime protests in the country.
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has met with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington amid Manama's continued repression of anti-regime protests in the Kingdom.
Clinton warmly welcomed the crown prince to the State Department for talks on Wednesday, on a "full range of regional and bilateral issues," State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland announced in a press release issued on the department's website following the meeting.
"Clinton affirmed the long-standing commitment of the United States to a strong partnership with both the people and the government of Bahrain," Nuland also said.The meeting came a day after the ruling al-Khalifah regime threatened to intensify its ongoing crackdown on anti-government protesters in the tiny Persian Gulf island.
On Tuesday, Bahrain vowed to crack down harder on anti-government protests as a leading opposition figure said the government had put a stop to talks on addressing the political grievances that fuelled last year's pro-democracy uprising.
Also, authorities have kept several leading activists in detention among which is Nabeel Rajab.
Amnesty International urged the government of Bahrain to "immediately" release rights activist Nabeel Rajab who was arrested over tweets deemed insulting to the government. Philip Luther, head of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty, called Rajab "a prisoner of conscience [who] must be immediately and unconditionally released." Additionally, a Bahrain court adjourned for two weeks the retrial of 21 opposition figures accused of plotting to overthrow the government, a group that includes Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Lawyers for some of the defendants complained that their clients had faced abuse in custody and been forced to sign confessions.
In mid-March 2011, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military equipment and troops to Bahrain upon a request from Manama to help quash the anti-regime protests in the country.
Scores of people have been killed and many more have been injured in Bahrain during the regime's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters have also been detained.
Source: News Agencies, edited by moqawama.org
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