The Hill News

A recent post on The Hill's Congress Blog recent post about Bahrain bore all the indicia of the most obsequious boosterism. According to its author, the Kingdom is a strategic ally, land of opportunity, and regional beacon of progress that could do no wrong. “Bahrain is governed by a thoughtful and progressive leader,” Mr. Sobhani effused. “[It] is the most open and liberal economy in the Persian Gulf and has been a leader in economic reform.”

This was not the first time Mr. Sobhani promoted Bahrain in a prominent venue. During the 2008 presidential election, he took to the pages of the Washington Times to make the exact same case by spotlighting the island nation’s “[w]estern-educated and reformist monarch K! ing Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa,” whose “pioneering role in promoting human rights, religious tolerance and democratic pluralism” are setting the stage for eventual democratization. (Tellingly, Mr. Sobhani’s Washington Times op-ed was re-posted verbatim on the website of the Bahraini Embassy.)

Alas, Bahrain’s repressive reality contrasts sharply with the rosy picture painted by Mr. Sobhani. Case-in-point: the Kingdom’s recent crackdown on dissident voices, including pioneering Arab blogger and human rights advocate Ali Abdulemam. As The Atlantic’s Max Fisher and the Committee to Protect Journalists have reported, Abdulemam was detained last month by the Bahraini national security apparatus on the bogus charge of “spreading false information” on his website BahrainOnline, a leading pro-democracy and human rights platform. As we speak, Abdulemam â€" along with dozens of other Shi’a activists â€" continues to perish in solitary confine! ment without access to his lawyer and with minimal contact wit! h his fa mily.

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