‘Attackers wanted to sabotage Friday worship’

Manama : The group of individuals, who attacked the Bahraini embassy in London on Friday, intended to prevent worshippers from attending the Friday prayer held at the embassy premises, according to sources.

“The group of individuals gathered near the embassy to halt the work of diplomats and to prevent worshippers from attending the weekly Friday prayers. Some of the embassy staff interfered to stop them and move them away from the embassy,” a source in the embassy told Al Ayam daily. 

As reported yesterday, a video shared online showed the group assaulting the embassy for the second time in less than a week. They closed the entrance of the embassy using steel chains before the embassy staff and British police removed it. Some of the individuals even verbally abused the staff.

“The embassy was not forcibly closed by the vandals and it resumed  works regularly after the attackers were dispersed,” the source said adding that the embassy is in the process of taking legal action against these groups.

The act was condemned by several politicians and rights groups who described the act as a violation to international pacts and agreements which instruct to protect diplomatic missions.

Additionally, the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa confirmed that a female British staffer sustained a back injury in the incident.

 “I extend my concern to a valued staffer subjected to harassment when entering Embassy premises,” he posted on his official Twitter page. 

The ambassador asserted that the assault violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which safeguards the security and protection of diplomatic missions.

It is a weekly routine for the Kingdom’s embassy in London to receive worshippers from Arab and Islamic diplomatic missions for sermons on Friday.