Amnesty to Bahraini Regime: End Heightened Crackdown on Opposition

Local Editor

Again the Bahraini regime is under the fire of human rights criticism for its continuous crackdown against the peaceful Bahraini opposition.

Amnesty International on the Bahraini regime to suspend its heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful critics and opposition figures as Manama keeps up its policy of repression.

"The Bahraini authorities should halt immediately their heightened crackdown on peaceful critics and opponents," said the UK-based rights group said in a statement published on Thursday.

Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassim is a top cleric and spiritual leader of al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain's main opposition group which has recently been dissolved by the Manama regime.

He had his citizenship revoked back in June, with Bahrain's Interior Ministry accusing the clergyman of seeking the "creation of a sectarian environment." He has rejected the accusation.

Elsewhere in its statement, Amnesty said that four of the detained clerics were sentenced to between one and two years imprisonment while nine others remain in detention pending trial.

Most of the 60 have been charged with "illegal gathering" or "inciting hatred of the regime" as well as taking part in the Diraz demonstrations.

Many of the Shia clergymen released a statement in July demanding that the al-Khalifah regime halt its practice of targeting them for their "identity," "beliefs" and "rituals."

Last month, a number of United Nations-appointed independent experts said the kingdom should stop "arbitrary" arrests and summons, and release those who put behind bars for exercising their rights.

Human Rights Watch also accused the Bahraini regime of systematically targeting religious leaders of the country's Shia community and violating the clerics' right to freedom of expression and gathering.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team