“After making the right call to press for the release of high-profile prisoners, the Obama administration’s decision to resume arms sales will only encourage Bahraini authorities’ unrelenting repression,” Margon said.
The United States had previously imposed a ban on security aid following the government’s cracked down on peaceful protesters demanding reforms in 2011, killing dozens and injuring hundreds.
Regarding the alleged progress on human rights issues, Margon stated Bahrain has not held any senior official accountable for 2011 killings of peaceful protestors, and has released only one of 13 jailed members of the opposition.
She noted, however, the prospect of reform and human rights improvements in Bahrain “are now further away than ever.”
Bahrain is a US ally in the Persian Gulf region and is the home port for the US Fifth Fleet.
Since 2011, the Sunni al-Khalifa regime has been locked in a struggle with an opposition movement led primarily by Shiites, who constitute a majority of the Bahrain’s population.