Bahrain Mirror: Member of the appointed Shura Council Sawsan Taqawi slammed the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon saying that "we reject Ban Ki Moon's statements for they doubt the integrity and independence of the Bahraini judiciary."

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon regretted that the sentence against Sheikh Ali Salman, the Bahraini opposition leader and Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has been more than doubled, demanding his release. He said that "Sheikh Ali Salman should be pardoned, as he has been peacefully and legitimately exercising his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association."

According to the Shura Council Twitter account, Taqwi highlighted "the importance to stop such acts against Bahrain as they reflect the existence of secret hands that work to defame the Kingdom's reputation through spreading lies."

Taqwi called on Ban Ki Moon to "pay attention to the terrorist crimes against innocent people in Iraq and Syria."

The Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, for his part, attacked UN officials after they demanded the release of Sheikh Ali Salman.

Commenting on Ban Ki Moon's call to release Sheikh Salman, the minister said on his own Twitter account that the UN "is passing through a critical stage in which it demands concerted efforts to set it right."

The minister responded to the demands of the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski, and United States Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, regarding the release of Sheikh Salman, saying "Tom Malinowski and Samantha Power should not protect themselves with the Vienna Convention of 1961 if they choose to speak as activists."

It is to mention that Vienna 1961 Conventions grants protection and diplomatic immunity to diplomatic personnels.   

The Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa attacked the US State Department's that demanded the release of Sheikh Ali Salman, considering that its language was more like "a NGO statement than an official diplomatic one."

The Arabic Issue