Obama called for al Khalifa regime not to Ban Political Societies, then stood silent as Political Society leadership was Systematically tortured and detained. They remain detained in King Hamad’s tortorus prisons under harsh condtions even today

Bahrain backs away from ban on two Shiite political groups
April 16, 2011 – by Paul Richter – Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington — Bahrain backed down Friday from its threat to disband the country’s main opposition party after unusually strong criticism from the United States that the strategic Persian Gulf nation was closing the door to promised political reforms.

One day after the Bahraini Justice Ministry said it would shut down two Shiite Muslim political parties, including the moderate Wefaq, the state-run news agency said the government would not act until it had finished investigations of the two groups.

Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid ibn Ahmed Khalifa also said on Twitter that the official statement from the Justice Ministry had been “incorrect” and that “all societies, including Al Wefaq, are encouraged to participate in elections and serve the people through parliament.”

The Obama administration, a strong ally of the Bahraini government, had defended the parties as “legitimate political societies” and had urged reversal of the decision. U.S. officials also spoke privately with senior Bahraini officials and dispatched the chief U.S. diplomat for the region, assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, to Manama, the capital.

A U.S. official said late Friday that Bahrain’s intentions remain somewhat murky because of the conflicting signals.

The Obama administration has come under growing criticism from human rights groups in the Middle East for not doing more to try to halt Bahrain’s crackdown on the opposition. …more