Iran condemns Bahrain court verdict against top Ayatollah Qassim

Iran has censured a verdict by a court in Bahrain to sentence distinguished Prominent religious scholar, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, to a suspended one-year jail term, expressing serious concern about the intensification of security approaches in the tiny Persian Gulf state.

"The Bahraini regime is pursuing a tribal and sectarian approach and seeks to challenge definitive rules of religion by leveling unfounded accusations against Sheikh Isa Qassim and two of his aides instead of their trial," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday, Press TV reported.

The Bahraini court issued the verdict on Sunday sentencing Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, to one year in prison, suspended for three years, and ordered him to pay a fine of 100,000 Bahraini dinars (over $265,000). The court also ruled to confiscate Qassim's properties  and two of his homes.

Additionally, Hussain al-Qassab and Mirza al-Dirazi, the cleric office's staffers, were sentenced to one-year imprisonment.

Qassemi once again called on the Bahraini regime to engage in dialogue and interaction with the country's people instead of fighting against their fundamental right of freedom.

He warned that the Aal-e Khalifa's minority regime's moves would further complicate the situation in the country.

The Iranian official added that the Bahraini people have been following the cleric's peaceful approaches and continue their protests, calling for the removal of restrictions on their religious leader.

Thousands of Bahrainis took to the streets on Sunday to denounce the ruling against the Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

SS