London Protests against Al-Khalifa Visit, UNHRC to Discuss Regime’s Brutality
The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations, has been revealed as one of the guests at a historic lunch of sovereign monarchs hosted by the Queen of England at Windsor Castle on Friday.
Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa appeared on a guest list released early on Friday ahead of the unprecedented gathering to celebrate the diamond jubilee.
Human rights demonstrators are expected to stage a protest outside Bahrain's embassy in London later Friday over the inclusion of the country's ruler.
The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was critical of the inclusion the Bahraini monarchy on the Queen's guest list. He said: "It is outrageous that the Queen has invited royal tyrants to celebrate her diamond jubilee."
This came as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is set to discuss Bahrain's rights record in the upcoming session of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva.
The UPR is a UNHRC mechanism to examine the human rights records of all UN member states. The Working Group on the UPR is to hold its 13th session from May 21 to June 4.
On the ground, anti-regime protesters have set tires on fire and blocked the main roads leading to the capital, Manama, as government forces continue their severe suppression of demonstrators.
According to Press TV, security forces attacked the protesters in several villages.
The demonstrators were chanting slogans against the ruling al- Khalifa family and calling for the release of political prisoners in the country. They also condemned the US support for the regime's ongoing suppression campaign against the anti-regime protesters.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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