UNITED NATIONS:– UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over a crackdown on opposition groups and activists in Bahrain. "The Secretary-General is also dismayed about reports that suggest that human rights defenders and activists in Bahrain have been intimidated and even stripped of their citizenship for peacefully carrying out activities to promote human rights, as well as for legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association," his spokesman said in a statement.–SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The statement said Ban was concerned at the recent re-arrest of human rights defender Nabil Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights; the dissolution of Al Wefaq, the largest opposition political grouping; and the lengthening of the sentence of Sheikh Ali Salman, of Al Wefaq.