British diplomats turn apologists for Bahrain, downplaying its crackdown

“Human Rights Watch says it stands by its assessment of the situation in Bahrain following an attack on its findings by Britain's ambassador in the troubled Gulf kingdom.

At the end of a fact-finding visit last month, HRW said Bahrain’s rulers had "made no progress on key reform promises, failing to release unjustly imprisoned activists or to hold accountable high-level officials responsible for torture".”