Bahrain's Crown Prince

"Bahrain's Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad, told the Ambassador on March 28 that the Bahraini government would begin taking a tougher line against criminals and political extremists. Salman said that the government's repeal of the state security law, and its wide-sweeping authorities, had caused problems for the police who had used it as a crutch to fight crime. Without the security law, the police had been unable to use regular laws to hold and prosecute lawbreakers. He claimed that to his knowledge no orders had ever been issued to the security services not to arrest people. The King, Salman said, is now urging security services to toughen up their enforcement of regular Bahraini laws. Salman underlined that the government and its security services would operate within the confines of existing Bahraini law. The government is committed to the rule of law, he concluded."