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| Top U.S. Human Rights Official to Return to Bahrain | Top U.S. Human Rights Official to Return to Bahrain |
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| BRUSSELS — The State Department’s top official on human rights is planning to return to Bahrain on Wednesday, nearly five months after he was ordered to leave the country, American officials said. | |
| The official, Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, is currently visiting Kuwait, and he will travel to Bahrain with Anne W. Patterson, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, the officials added. | The official, Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, is currently visiting Kuwait, and he will travel to Bahrain with Anne W. Patterson, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, the officials added. |
| On July 7, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry demanded that Mr. Malinowski cut short a visit to the country, complaining that he had violated “conventional diplomatic norms” after he met with the leader of al-Wefaq, the country’s largest opposition party. | On July 7, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry demanded that Mr. Malinowski cut short a visit to the country, complaining that he had violated “conventional diplomatic norms” after he met with the leader of al-Wefaq, the country’s largest opposition party. |
| Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived here on Tuesday for two days of meetings at NATO headquarters, called Bahrain’s foreign minister at the time to complain about the move, including the country’s insistence that a Foreign Ministry official attend all of Mr. Malinowski’s meetings with the opposition. | Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived here on Tuesday for two days of meetings at NATO headquarters, called Bahrain’s foreign minister at the time to complain about the move, including the country’s insistence that a Foreign Ministry official attend all of Mr. Malinowski’s meetings with the opposition. |
| The United States has suspended some arms sales to Bahrain’s Defense Ministry until Mr. Malinowski is allowed to return there and Bahrain makes progress on human rights. Assistance to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, which has been involved in cracking down on the opposition, has been suspended indefinitely, American officials said. | The United States has suspended some arms sales to Bahrain’s Defense Ministry until Mr. Malinowski is allowed to return there and Bahrain makes progress on human rights. Assistance to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, which has been involved in cracking down on the opposition, has been suspended indefinitely, American officials said. |
| Some nongovernmental organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have urged the Obama administration to take stronger steps. | Some nongovernmental organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have urged the Obama administration to take stronger steps. |
| Bahrain has been a delicate issue for the United States. The Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, has its headquarters there, and F-16s from Bahrain have joined the American-led airstrikes against militants from the Islamic State, who have seized territory in northeast Syria and in northern and western Iraq. | Bahrain has been a delicate issue for the United States. The Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, has its headquarters there, and F-16s from Bahrain have joined the American-led airstrikes against militants from the Islamic State, who have seized territory in northeast Syria and in northern and western Iraq. |
| The Obama administration has sought to maintain strong ties with the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain while urging it to respect the rights of the opposition movement. | The Obama administration has sought to maintain strong ties with the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain while urging it to respect the rights of the opposition movement. |
| Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since a 2011 uprising in which the Shiite-led opposition demanded greater political rights. The State Department’s 2013 report on human rights said that the abuses there 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; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, medical personnel, teachers, and students, with some trials resulting in harsh sentences.” | Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since a 2011 uprising in which the Shiite-led opposition demanded greater political rights. The State Department’s 2013 report on human rights said that the abuses there 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; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, medical personnel, teachers, and students, with some trials resulting in harsh sentences.” |
| Elections for the lower house of the National Assembly were held last month. Al-Wefaq and other groups boycotted the vote, complaining that no progress had been made in a national dialogue on political rights. | Elections for the lower house of the National Assembly were held last month. Al-Wefaq and other groups boycotted the vote, complaining that no progress had been made in a national dialogue on political rights. |
| The Obama administration is expected to reassess its suspension of some arms deliveries after Mr. Malinowski’s visit and after evaluating the election process and the human rights situation there. | The Obama administration is expected to reassess its suspension of some arms deliveries after Mr. Malinowski’s visit and after evaluating the election process and the human rights situation there. |