"The UK is a longstanding friend and ally of Bahrain, and ministers regularly meet with Bahraini counterparts in the UK and abroad, " he said.

CNN: SHARE THIS

Bahrain is home to me, and although I am not a Bahraini passport holder I love this tiny island with a certain passion.

BBC: Young workers: 'Never forget your dreams'

The Briton had been advised not to travel to this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone saying the Bahraini royal family "would not like" his attendance in the Kingdom.

BBC: Defiant Mosley vows to fight on

Ayatollah Najati - who represents Iraq's renowned Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani - and his family had not obtained their Bahraini passports "through the appropriate legal means", Bahrain's interior ministry said in a statement.

BBC: Shia cleric loses citizenship amid Bahrain clampdown

Moreover, though the opposition is unlikely to be manipulated by invisible Iranian hands, many Bahraini Shias sympathise with Iran, which at a minimum gives Bahrain's dissidents moral support and often features them admiringly on Iran's Press-TV channel.

ECONOMIST: Trouble in Bahrain

"The vast majority of Bahraini people have clearly expressed their objection to F1 to take place in Bahrain, " the coalition said.

CNN: Funeral in Bahrain erupts in violence

Jalila al Sayed, a Bahraini human rights lawyer, described the verdict as "a very sad day for justice in Bahrain".

BBC: Bahrain police acquitted in protester death cases

The special rapporteur called on the Bahraini government to "honour its commitments" and spoke of his "compassion with the people of Bahrain who were expecting my visit, and in particular, victims of torture and ill-treatment and their families".

BBC: News