MANAMA, Sept 26: Bahraini authorities have detained a leading human rights activist after he publicly criticised the prime minister, his group said on Sunday.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, director of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was detained after making a speech on Friday, fellow rights activist Nabil Rajab said.

Khawaja had blamed Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa for the country's "economic woes and rising poverty". Sympathisers held a small rally outside the general prosecutor's office on Sunday demanding the release of Khawaja.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, backing the prime minister - his uncle - warned critics against any "abuses of the (existing) open atmosphere". "Some tend to abuse the openness and freedoms in the country and try to cause division.

They spread rumours and attack symbols of the government. We distance ourselves from anyone who engages in such acts," newspapers quoted him as saying. Bahrain, headquarters to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, is the least wealthy of Gulf Arab states with high unemployment. -Reuters