Bahrain Mirror: Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, canceled a visit to Bahrain scheduled to kick off on Saturday (September 19, 2015). The US embassy in Manama informed political parties about the cancellation of the visit.

Malinowski was expected to visit Bahrain starting from Saturday (September 19, 2015) accompanied with Anne Patterson, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and former ambassador to Cairo, within a 2-day program visit in which they meet parties from the government and opposition. The US embassy scheduled a number of meetings including ones with the opposition, human rights defenders and government officials. The US embassy; however, apologized for cancelling the visit without announcing why.

The Bahraini authorities expelled Malinowski from Bahrain on July 7, 2015 accusing him of violating diplomatic norms after he met with the Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Sheikh Ali Salman, in the society's headquarters. The Bahraini government; however, allowed him to visit Bahrain about 5 months later.

Last week, the US signed a joint statement by 33 member states in the UN human rights council in which they expressed their deep concern regarding the human rights situation in Bahrain. "The human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern," read the statement.

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