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Human Rights Activists Warn Of Worsening Situation In Bahrain

In recent weeks, protesters have been killed and arrested, an opposition party dissolved and an independent newspaper closed. Some accuse President Trump of prioritizing arms sales over human rights.
President Trump and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa met in Riyadh on May 21. "Our countries have a wonderful relationship together, but there has been a little strain, but there won't be strain with this administration," Trump said. / MANDEL NGAN / Getty Images

On his visit last month to Saudi Arabia, President Trump devoted special attention to the U.S. alliance with Bahrain, a major non-NATO ally that is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. During a bilateral meeting with King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, Trump told the monarch that Bahrain would not experience the same "strain" there'd been with Trump's predecessor, President Obama — whose administration had linked military sales to human rights.

In the days that followed Trump's meeting with the king, Bahraini authorities cracked down on domestic opponents. The

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