Iraqi Vice-President Nouri Al-Maliki had called the execution of three Bahrainis ‘an ugly crime’
Iraqi Vice-President Nouri Al Maliki called the execution “an ugly crime”.
The Bahrain foreign ministry said Al Maliki’s remarks and comments by the Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman amounted to an “unacceptable interference” in Manama’s internal affairs.
Bahrain says the execution was carried out after a lengthy judicial process that had convicted the three men — Abbas Al Samea, 27, Sami Mushaima, 42, and Ali Al Singace, 21. The attack killed an Emirati police officer and two Bahraini policemen.
“The undersecretary of Regional and GCC Affairs, Ambassador Waheed Mubarak Sayyar, asserted the Kingdom of Bahrain’s condemnation and its deep rejection of the remarks … and demanded they be conveyed to the Iraqi government,” BNA said.
Bahrain has recently accused Iraqi groups of providing military training and support for militants behind bomb attacks that have killed several policemen in recent years.
Relations between Baghdad and Iraq’s Arab neighbours, including Bahrain, have been frosty since US forces toppled President Saddam Hussain in 2003 and replaced him with a Shiite-led government.
