Bahrain Mirror: The Deputy Spokesperson of the United States Department of State, Mark C. Toner, confirmed that the case of detained Bahraini human rights activist Zainab Al-Khawaja is considered an issue to the United States.

He made this comment after a reporter pressured him with a number of questions, during the daily press briefing held on Monday (May 23, 2016), on the US stance regarding Bahrain's unfulfillment of its repeated public promises to release Al-Khawaja.

"Zainab al-Khawaja in Bahrain - if you remember, she's imprisoned with her, I think, one-year-old daughter [...] And it was about, I don't know, five weeks ago the Secretary stood on the stage with the Bahraini foreign minister and he promised that he would release her. She is not released and, apparently, she's sick and her family can't get the one-year-old out of prison. Is this an issue, or is that okay with you guys?," asked the reporter.

Insisting on bringing up the issue, he further stressed: "You got this promise and you hailed him, I think, at the time for this," adding that the situation has become "a little silly at some point."

Consequently, Toner responded by saying: "Of course it's an issue, and let me see if I can get an update for you on that."

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