Bahrain Crown Prince Meets with Opposition Leaders

Washington, D.C. – Following news reports that Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman met with opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman on Wednesday, Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley issued the following statement:

“The meeting between the Crown Prince and some opposition leaders takes us back to March 2011. Dozens of deaths and thousands of arrests later, we are approaching crunch time for decisive action and political reconciliation in Bahrain.

“Any deal made between the Bahraini regime and opposition leaders will only be successful if it involves solutions to human rights abuses including release of political prisoners and accountability for past violations. Further, the deal must provide real solutions that the Bahraini regime and opposition leaders were unable to achieve through reconciliation talks three years ago.

“The United States should push for a broad range of opposition voices in the negotiations including key opposition leaders who remain in prison.”