Marik, the Kingdom's ambassador to Bahrain, denied media reports that embassy officials there have been slow in responding to a case in which a Saudi man was reportedly attacked by Bahraini officers on their side of the King Fahd Causeway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. “Accusations circulated by the media have entered the scope of personal opinion,” he said. “The Saudi embassy received unconfirmed information and acted upon it to learn more. Some people in the media are not aware of what the embassy has done about the case, the official correspondence and contacts with the authorities.” The incident, which was filmed by a Saudi man who sent the video to authorities and posted it online, took place on May 22. The man who was involved in the incident was returning from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia when he was beaten by Bahraini security officials and hospitalized with broken bones and other injuries, officials have said. Embassy officials, who are still working with the Bahraini judiciary, are operating within international laws and using standard procedures for matters in other countries that involve Saudi citizens, Dr. Al-Marik said. The Saudi embassy took the initiative and acted quickly by working through official and legal channels and wrote to authorities including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to learn more about the incident and document it, he said. “The embassy strove hard and did all within its power to activate the case and sent complaints to all the higher authorities to find the perpetrators and those breaking the regulations,” he said. Al-Marik said that as per its policy, the embassy was active from the first day of the incident. He added that officials in Bahrain are dealing fairly with the case because the two countries have excellent relations.
