Bahrain Mirror- Exclusive: The United States urged the government of Bahrain to drop the charges against the prominent opposition leader Ibrahim Sharif, stressing that they are following the case closely and they have raised the case of Ibrahim Sharif and other human rights separately directly with the Bahrainis.

In a press conference for the US State Department on Monday (November 14, 2016), Press Office Director Elizabeth Trudeau said "We are aware of media reports, actually, that Ibrahim Sharif, the former leader of the opposition Waad political society, has been questioned and charged over comments he actually made in an AP article."

"We're following the case closely. As we've said before, we believe that no one anywhere should be prosecuted or imprisoned for engaging in freedom of expression, even when that expression is critical," she continued.

Trudeau concluded saying "Any charges against Sharif on that basis should be dropped," stressing that her country raised the case of Ibrahim Sharif and other human rights separately directly with the Bahrainis.

Arabic Version