MANAMA (Dispatches) – U.S. State Department has been urged to pressure Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release prominent human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner Nabeel Rajab.
Rajab been kept behind bars over his criticism of the ruling Al Khalifah regime and the Wahhabi ideology.
Brian Dooley, a senior advisor at Human Rights First, said that the administration of former President Barack Obama had called for Rajab’s release, but under President Donald Trump, "the State Department has stood obstinately silent.”
He added, "The White House has also lifted human rights conditions—including Rajab’s release—on the sale of weapons to Bahrain’s dictatorship. If this administration wants stability in Bahrain, it should resist human rights abuses, not enable them.”
"Rajab has been subjected to a sham trial and not been allowed to attend some of his own hearings. Silencing peaceful dissent will only encourage violent protests, and make Bahrain an even more dangerous place,” Dooley said.