DUBAI — Amnesty International on Thursday accused Bahrain of
pressing on with a crackdown against Shi’a activists and doctors, as Manama
tried to fend off charges of foreign meddling in its affairs.

“A crackdown on Shi’a opposition activists and doctors
continues in Bahrain, with six more people detained in the past few days,”
said the London-based rights watchdog.

“Amnesty International believes that they have been
detained solely for their criticism of and involvement in the protests and that
therefore they are prisoners of conscience,” Amnesty said in a statement.

But the Sunni-ruled kingdom responded by slamming what it
said was foreign interference and charged that outside forces had hijacked the
pro-reform demands of demonstrators.

“Bahrain condemns external interference in its domestic
matters,” said a government spokeswoman, Maysoon Sakba.

“Recent calls for reform by sections of the Bahraini
people were hijacked by an extreme agenda, resulting in an escalation of more
violent methods, leading to a fundamental breakdown in law and order,” she
said in a statement.

Sakba said a March 16 raid on Salmaniya Medical Complex
following violent clashes in Manama was aimed at restoring order after the
medical staff had turned the hospital into a base for regrouping demonstrators.

“Salmaniya was effectively being used as a coordination
center by protesters and had been overrun by political and sectarian
activity,” the spokeswoman said.

“This included the spreading of malicious propaganda by
several senior members of the medical staff and the blocking of medical care,
severely interrupting service and endangering lives,” said Sakba.

Salmaniya is Bahrain’s largest public sector hospital and
has been the focus of conflicting reports of abuse. Bahraini authorities
contend its Shi’a staff had turned the complex into a protest center, while the
international community has denounced the storming of the health facility by
security forces.

Over the past week, a tense calm has returned to Manama, where clashes
between security forces and protesters since February 14 have killed at least
15 people, most of them demonstrators.