Al Khalifa Suspends Bahrain's Main Opposition Party
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Al Khalifa regime said it has suspended all activities by Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, amid a widening crackdown on dissent.
In a Tuesday statement on the state-run Bahrain News Agency, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom’s Justice Ministry said it has suspended the al-Wefaq opposition group and frozen its assets.
Officials with the party could not be immediately reached, AP reported.
This comes a day after authorities detained Nabeel Rajab, a prominent activist and the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Zainab al-Khawaja, another prominent activist, also fled for Denmark in recent days over fears of being imprisoned again.
Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.
In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini regime in its crackdown on the peaceful protests.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the crackdown.
Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition activists and anti-regime protesters.
