The government of Bahrain is desperately seeking international support for its repressive policies – so desperately, in fact, that if the support doesn't exist it's happy to invent it.

In April, it claimed that Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, had expressed support for Bahrain's "security measures" (i.e. its violent suppression of protesters) and had "praised the political reforms led by His Majesty the King and Bahrain's progress and prosperity at all levels". This was more or less the opposite of what he actually said. 

In June, it put words into the mouth of Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, prompting a complaint from the UN that her highly critical views had been "grossly misrepresented".

In September, it made up statements from Amnesty International about the death of a 14-year-old protester.

To add to the list, we now have this report from the official Bahrain News Agency:

"UK Foreign Secretary William Hague asserted that the political march in Bahrain is progressing, adding that the kingdom seems resolved to enhance that march for the sake of achieving consensus between all segments of the Bahraini society.

"He also said that the International Community has welcomed the landmark initiatives launched by the kingdom recently, such as the establishment of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and the National Consensus Dialogue that engaged all parties in the country.

"In a statement he delivered at the House of Commons last Thursday, William Hague stressed the importance of the report due to be issued by BICI by the end of this month ...

"William Hague also welcomed the announcement of the Bahraini Attorney General that the medical staff will be retried in a civil court on October 23. He also said doctors and nurses were tried over violations they had committed, asserting that their trial in a civil court will be transparent and fair."

What Hague actually said was this:

"Members of all sides of the House will have concerns about events in Bahrain, including the use of military-led courts to try civilian defendants including doctors and nurses. We welcome the announcement by the Bahraini Attorney General that the cases of the medical staff will now be retried in a civil court on 23 October, and the expected report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on 30 October. We attach great importance to the publication of this report. It is a major opportunity for Bahrain to demonstrate that it will adhere to international standards, meet its human rights commitments and take action when abuses are identified."

Hague also elaborated on this in a question-and-answer session (reported here).

As the Chan'ad Bahraini blog points out, nothing that he said justified the news agency's headline, "Bahrain Is Resolved to Reach National Consensus, Says William Hague", nor did he say that "the political march in Bahrain is progressing" – rather, that he was waiting to see what would happen.

Nor did he say doctors and nurses were tried over violations they had committed or assert that their trial in a civil court would be transparent and fair. His actual words were:

"It is absolutely not my brief to defend the Bahraini Government in their handling of the situation. There are allegations about those doctors and nurses, and some in Bahrain argue that they were not going about their jobs but doing other things. It is not for me, however, to state those allegations or to agree with them. 

"Those people should have been tried, if they needed to be tried at all, in a transparent way, in a civil court and with, of course, a fair judgment at the end. Therefore, we welcome the decision that they should be retried, and we will all watch very closely how that retrial takes place and what the verdicts are."

These is a pattern here in these stories from Bahrain's government news media. It is not simply a case of accidental misquoting or careless reporting but of deliberate and persistent lying, and I hope the British Foreign Office will be making a formal complaint.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 17 October 2011.