Bahrainis Stage Massive Protest agasint Regime’s Blockade on Diraz (+Photos)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Bahraini people from every walk of life took to streets in the restive village of Diraz, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa regime’s blockade on the village, where the house of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite majority, is located.
Despite the Manama regime’s intensification of security measures, people of the Persian Gulf country held a peaceful rally in Diraz toward the house of Sheikh Qassim on Thursday night.
During the demonstration, the protesters voiced their outrage over of the siege on the cleric’s house and chanted anti-regime slogans in support of the top leader.
Although the siege has been in place for more than 200 days, the protesters announced that they are prepared to withstand even worse conditions by the Manama regime.
The Manama regime forces have placed barricades at more than 20 entrances to Diraz, barring even the shipment of fresh water and foodstuff from entering the village.
Meanwhile, a sit-in that supporters of Sheikh Qassim have staged in front of his house to protect him against the regime forces has now entered its seventh month.
The Manama regime announced on June 20, 2016, that the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim has been revoked, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions.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 months.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf, 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.