Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): On February 11, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa met with the Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Ridwaan Jadwat, who resides in the Saudi capital Riyadh, hours after Hakeem Al-Araibi was released in Thailand and headed for Australia.

The Bahraini minister stressed during the meeting on "developing relations with Australia and not allowing any issue to affect these relations, which are witnessing continuous progress on various levels."

What was demonstrated turned out to be contrary to the minister's confirmation, as Bahrain seems not to be very keen on developing relations with Australia. It seems that Hakeem Al-Araibi's case made a shift in its approach towards Australia. A few days after Sawsan Al-Shaer's tweet, in which she ridiculed the fact that Hakeem Al-Araibi was granted Australian citizenship, a critical tweet was put out by Bahrain's Ambassador to London, Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, which can be deemed an official statement.

Fawaz's tweet came at a very bad time for Australians, who are now facing the consequences of attacks committed by an extreme right-wing Australian man killing dozens of Muslims in two mosques in New Zealand. "There is a moral flaw in the assessment of those receiving citizenship that will turn Australia into a refuge for extremists, as it is clear that it's easy to deceive it under false cases such as human rights," said Fawaz bin Mohammed on Twitter Friday (March 15, 2019).

Based on the Bahraini authorities' logic over the past years, this is an official interference in the internal affairs of another country, as the comment was made about an internal matter under Australian law, i.e. granting citizenship to residents who have completed procedures and legal conditions for receiving their Australian citizenship.

In fact, granting Hakeem Al-Araibi the Australian nationality and Hakeem's statement declaring that no country can now pursue him has apparently struck a sensitive cord with the Bahraini authorities, since they have failed  to retaliate, and a person who was oppressed under their rule managed to slip from their grip. Hence, the tribal rage of Manama could only be released through statements by the likes of Sawsan Al-Shaer and Fawaz Al Khalifa.

On the other hand, many have chosen to remind the Ambassador of Bahrain's naturalization project, and that the Al Khalifa government is the last government to give lectures on the ethics of naturalization. Fawaz himself has practiced naturalization since he was in charge of the sports sector, by naturalizing players from poor countries.

Fawaz bin Mohammed is the former interior minister's son and the former head of the notorious state security service's brother. Fawaz was also one of the officials responsible for the arrests of athletes, as he was in charge of radio and television in 2011 and was assigned the task of identifying the players who should be arbitrarily arrested and punished.

A number of tweeters and Bahraini citizens, most of whom use nicknames on social media fearing retaliation, responded to Fawaz bin Mohammed. "The last one who should speak about naturalization is you. Unfortunately, the country's makeup has changed, and on top of that, the level of services has deteriorated, not to mention the Gulf states' complaints about some of the new naturalized citizens," one said.

"In Australia, there are democratic institutions and laws that rule above all, unlike the private farm governed by the whims of the tribe. Unfortunately, you are looking at others with a black mirror," another Twitter user commented.

"Even Bahrain is using its nationality to enter Saudi Arabia, exploiting it as a Gulf state and corrupting the Saudi market. They are said to be buying its nationality for 200,000," another said. "I hope that restrictions will be put on Bahrainis regarding their stay and work in Saudi Arabia so that the nationalities of these parasites are withdrawn and they are dealt with".

"All this is because Hakeem Al-Araibi received citizenship from Australia while you give citizenships to hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals and Bedouins, the good and the bad alike, and now you come speak about Australia's democracy," one Tweeter added.

Another responded by saying that Fawaz was hurt by, "the fact that Hakeem Al-Araibi got the Australian citizenship after they failed to return him to Bahrain to torture him and then throw him in prison!"

Arabic Version