The Minister of Justice Islamic Affairs and Endowments Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa denied the existence of any political prisoner or prisoner of opinion in jail stressing that those apprehended were those who had committed criminal actions and are being trailed for.
Shaikh Khalid said that the Kingdom of Bahrain was in continuous dialogue towards reforms through His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s reform project.
In an interview posted by the Bahrain News Agency the minister affirmed that the invitation extended by His Majesty the King for all Bahraini people related to the launch of the national unity dialogue with no preconditions was an embedding of the principles undertaken by the kingdom since a very long time. He said that it came as a completion to the invitation made last February and that it would include everyone with no exceptions. Moreover, Shaikh Khalid said that any side that refuses to take part in the dialogue would undertake the responsibility adding that the entire country could not be taken hostage because a side had its personal point of view or unable to enter such a dialogue.
In addition to that the minister refused the terms of “loyal” and “opposition” saying that they were imported terminologies that are not applicable to the Bahraini situation. He also indicated that any political organization that is not licensed cannot be taken into consideration because it must work within the framework of the constitution and law in light of the national unity. He said that dialogue should be in the constitutional establishments along with the executive and legislative authorities affirming that all individuals in society must come together and mend the crack that was made between them emphasizing with that his trust in Bahrain society’s ability in preserving its national unity.
Shaikh Khalid said that the upcoming phase was not one for slogans but a stage for national efforts and openness to others and that the ground was solid now to conduct national dialogue towards stability. The minister stressed that the Bahraini people did not need mediation among them are able to lead the correct and comprehensive dialogue.
The minister denied the existence of group arrests in the Kingdom of Bahrain indicating that that it was not the policies of the kingdom related to mass punishments and that there was protection for all the people. Moreover, killing innocent people was not a political action and what the opposition said related to the death sentences considering it as a political sentence was untrue.
The Minister said that the Kingdom of Bahrain protected mosques and prayer areas with a budget of BD 19 million over the past years for both sects. He said that the Kingdom of Bahrain came out of the National Safety situation and stability regained. This in turn would achieve a better future for the Bahraini people.