Jailed Bahraini Activist Criticizes Trump for Gulf Arms Sales

Local Editor

Citing human rights records, jailed Bahraini activist and rights defender Nabeel Rajab criticized US President Donald Trump in a New York Times column on Wednesday for selling arms to his country and Saudi Arabia.

The column appeared ahead of Trump's visit this weekend to Saudi Arabia, a supporter of the kingdom of Bahrain which is engulfed in a crackdown on its dissidents.

Both countries had waged a war on Yemen for over two years, launching thousands of air strikes that had martyred thousands of Yemenis and destroyed the countries infrastructure.

"[Trump's] administration already decided to lift all human rights restrictions on arms sales to my country, Bahrain, which is a partner in the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen," the column said.

"It fills me with shame that my country, Bahrain, is bombing Yemen, with United States support. And while the Saudi-led coalition continues its air assault on Yemen, Bahrain is also trying to crush civil society back home."

The United States is close to completing a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia totaling more than $100 billion, a senior White House official told Reuters this month.

There was no immediate government comment on the article.

Rajab and other mostly dissidents rose up against the regime in 2011, demanding more rights and representation.

He was denied bail on Tuesday on charges of spreading false news, a pro-opposition rights group reported, and also faces charges related to writing an op-ed in the New York Times last year, as well as charges of spreading false news and making critical tweets.

The United Nations Committee against Torture on Friday called for his release from more than nine months of solitary confinement.

Bahrain's regimes denies any systematic rights abuses and accuses the opposition of seeking its overthrow.

Trump's White House decided to pursue a $5 billion sale to Bahrain of 19 Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft and related equipment, which was held up last year by human rights concerns.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told Reuters last month that Trump better understood the threat to the US's Gulf Arab allies than his predecessor Barack Obama.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team