'US to blame for Bahrain crackdown'

Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175509.html

A Bahraini activist, who is on hunger strike, has criticized the US administration for turning a blind eye to the Saudi-backed crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain.

“On the one hand, the American administration always tries to show the world they represent democracy, but on the other hand they're giving the green light to the Bahraini dictatorship to do whatever they want to the Bahraini people and that is very, very, shameful,” human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja told Press TV from Manama on Monday.

“It's not just words, freedom and human rights and justice are not just words. You cannot claim to be behind change and freedom and then in Bahrain support dictators with all you have and stay silent over all of human rights abuses,” she added.

On Sunday, al-Khawaja was taken to hospital after seven days of hunger strike following the arrest of her father, uncle, husband and brothers-in-law.

The 27-year-old had her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja -- a prominent Bahraini opposition figure -- and her husband Mohammed al-Masqati violently being taken away by the forces.

The family members and human rights activists said that masked officers burst into al-Khawaja's home on April 9 and assaulted her father and husband.

People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.

Bahraini forces have cracked down on the anti-regime protesters with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops. Many people have gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.