DOHA (Reuters) – Bahraini authorities denounced what they called foreign double standards and interference on Friday, days after their main Western ally Washington criticized the detention of the head of the main Shi’ite Muslim opposition group.

Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the al-Wefaq Islamic Society, was arrested on Sunday after leading a protest rally against elections in November which his party boycotted.

The U.S. State Department expressed deep concern over the detention on Wednesday, saying it would further inflame tensions in the island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.