Opposition Figure Deplores Raid on Bahrain Shiite Leader’s House
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The representative of prominent Shiite cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Ahmed Qassem in Iran said that the Bahraini forces’ raid on the cleric’s house was actually “an aggressive act” against the people of the Persian Gulf country.
“Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassem holds the leadership of Bahrain's Shiites and is the most respected figure among them, therefore the attack on his house and insulting the cleric is actually an aggressive act against the general public,” Sheikh Abdullah Daqqaq said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday.
Bahraini security forces raided the house of Ayatollah Qassem on Monday. Witnesses say regime forces even took photos of the ID cards of everyone who was inside the house in Diraz, west of the capital Manama.
Bahrain's main opposition bloc al-Wefaq condemned the raid on Sheikh Qassem’s house, stressing that the Al Khalifa regime will have to face the consequences of the brazen move.
The raid came just a few days after people voted in a referendum held by the opposition parties of Bahrain.
An overwhelming majority of the voters voted yes in the referendum which asked them, “Do you agree that your fate is decided with the election of new political establishment in Bahrain with the United Nations monitoring?”
The opposition had boycotted the parliamentary elections which were held with a low turnout on the same day across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of protesters have held demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling on the Al Khalifa royal family to step down from power. The protesters have also slammed the Manama regime’s arrest and torture of political activists.
Many Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
