Pointing out Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on opposition groups, Rabie told Al-Alam News Network on Monday that “despite Bahrain regime’s attempts to prevent the leaders of the opposition groups from participating in Manama Dialogue, they [leaders] made their voice heard by the participants via the media covering the event.”

He noted that the Bahraini regime’s failure to suppress the voice of the opposition activists was a great achievement for the country’s revolutionaries.

Rabie added that several issues in security such as Syria’s crisis and extremism were discussed in Manama Dialogue; however, legal demands of nations, especially Persian Gulf Arab nations, who suffer from the lack of democratic governments, were not brought up.

“Despite its brutal crackdown on the dissidents, Al Khalifa regime speaks of democracy and claims that it respects the rights of its citizens,” Rabie said.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

In a statement published last week, rights group Amnesty International said the Al Khalifa regime “must immediately release” the prominent activist.

RA/NJF