“The cabinet has approved a proposal by the parliament to put an end to the interference of US Ambassador Thomas Krajeski in Bahrain’s internal affairs,” the official BNA news agency reported Samira Rajab as saying.
It also aims at putting an end to “his repeated meetings with instigators of sedition”—a government term for Shia protesters who frequently clash with police.
However, “the diplomatic measures Bahrain will take do not include dismissing the envoy,” said Rajab, adding that Manama “will commit to international agreements in dealing with the US ambassador”.
On April 25, Bahrain voiced “dismay” over an assessment by the US State Department of the rights situation in the kingdom, saying it contained “texts which are totally far from the truth, adopting a manner that fuels terror and terrorists targeting Bahrain’s national security”.
A US State Department report released on April 19 said that “the most serious human rights problems included citizens’ inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention.”
*A Bahraini court jailed 31 people for 15 years yesterday after convicting them of attacking a police patrol in the Shia village of Sitra, a lawyer said.
The group was accused of attempted murder and setting a police car ablaze, in addition to rioting and possessing petrol bombs, said the lawyer who requested anonymity.
Fourteen of the defendants remain at large.
