Bahrainis to Hold Protest Rallies


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bahrain’s political and revolutionary forces have called on the Persian Gulf country’s people to take part in protest rallies on Friday.

They urged people to hold anti-regime demonstrations and insist on the withdrawal of Saudi and Emirati forces from Bahrain, Al-Alam news network reported.

The planned Friday rallies will come on the occasion of the country's Independence Day and a few days after an Al Khalifa regime’s court has sentenced 14 people to life in prison in relation to the political crisis in the country.

Another 12 citizens have been sentenced to 7 years in prison, making a sum of 434 years for all 26.

“The sentence further entrench the tyrannical rule and extends the crisis between the majority of the people who are demanding democratic transition and the dynasty in power”, the website of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, a main opposition party in Bahrain said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Salman, the society’s secretary-general, in a Twitter post underlined that the repressive verdicts will not (deter) the Bahraini people’s struggle for democracy and equality. 

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power, amid the regime heavy-handed crackdown on them.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama regime in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.