Bahrainis Continue Sit-In in Support of Sheikh Qassim
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A sit-in that supporters of prominent Bahraini cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim have staged in front of his house to protect him against the regime forces has remained in place for four straight months, Bahraini sources reported.
The sit-in entered its 115th day on Sunday in front of Sheikh Qassim’s house in the northwestern village of Diraz, according to Bahrain’s LuaLua TV.
Elsewhere, thousands of demonstrators staged a rally at al-Fida Square on Saturday to protest crackdown against Shiites and reaffirm solidarity with Sheikh Qassim, whose nationality has been revoked by the Al Khalifa regime.
The Manama regime announced on June 20 that the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim has been revoked, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions.
The regime later said it would put the senior cleric on trial on charges of “illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism.”
But Sheikh Qassim has not appeared in any of the court sessions in the past weeks.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with security forces resorting to harsh measures against demonstrators.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful protests.
