Bahrainis Have Right to Defend Themselves: Opposition Party
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesman for Bahrain’s Al-Wafa'a Islamic Party, a major opposition party, said the people of the Persian Gulf country have the right to be armed and defend themselves in the face of the ruling Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown.
“We believe that in order to defend themselves, the Bahraini people have the right to use any means even arms,” Seyed Morteza Al-Sandi said in an interview with Tasnim News Agency.
He further emphasized that the peaceful movements and protests staged by the people in recent years have failed to restore the rights of the people or end the oppression.
The opposition figure further condemned a recent move by the Manama regime to execute three young protesters, saying the killing of the three citizens was desecration of the blood of Bahrainis.
Sandi added that the executions prove the necessity for changing methods and mechanisms that have been used in the protests over the past years.
Sami Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir al-Sami and Ali Abdulshahid al-Singace on Sunday faced the firing squad, six days after a court upheld their death sentences over allegations of involvement in a bomb attack some three years ago.
On January 9, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the death penalties given to the three young activists over allegations of killing a member of Emirati forces who had been assisting Manama in its suppression of Bahraini protesters in the northern village of al-Daih back in March 2014. Seven other convicts have also been sentenced to life in prison in the case.
The defendants had denied the charges.
Bahrainis took to the streets in cities and towns across the country on Sunday and Monday to condemn the ruling regime for the executions.
Manama has given a heavy-handed security response to peaceful popular protests, which first began in early 2011. The clampdown has cost scores of lives. Later during the popular uprising, the regime called in Saudi and Emirati reinforcements to help it muffle dissent.