Bahrain Mirror: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) submitted on Monday a statement for the Congressional Record, addressing Bahrain's crackdown on peaceful protestors on the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain.

Wyden addressed President Joe Biden saying "Mr. President, 10 years ago, families marched together and protestors gathered in Manama's Pearl Roundabout urging the King to grant greater economic and political rights, particularly for Bahrain's Shia majority."

"The regime deployed state security forces against the demonstrators, unleashing a wave of violence and repression. Journalists and human rights advocates documented the regime's use of tear gas and rubber bullets against the unarmed crowds. Security forces beat a number of protestors and arbitrarily detained many more, targeting even the physicians who volunteered to tend to the wounded. Security forces shot one young protestor, Ali Mushaima, in the back, killing him."

Bahrain's authorities made clear that day that they had no intention of conducting a meaningful dialogue or adopting significant reforms.

If Bahrainis come to associate the United States with their government's cruelty and repression, this security partnership could become much less reliable. If the Monarchy were overrun by Bahrainis who had come to hate the United States due to our inaction in the face of gross human rights abuses, what would happen to our military base and the thousands of Americans who live in the country? It is a question I think we would all rather not have to answer.

It is with this in mind that on the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring, I call on the Biden-Harris administration to urge Bahrain's King to release political prisoners, including human rights defenders and members of the political opposition, and to engage them in a credible dialogue about a more inclusive future for all Bahrainis.

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's report demanded the release of 6 Bahraini activists who were arbitrarily arrested without judicial permit and were tortured to have their confessions extracted.

Arabic Version