Bahrain’s main opposition group blasts Manama over Diraz sit-in verdicts

Bahrain's main opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has censured the recent jail terms handed down to scores of people over taking part in a sit-in in 2017.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, al-Wefaq accused Manama’s judiciary of convicting “innocent people” after a court handed down prison terms to 167 Bahrainis for holding a sit-in in protest at the regime’s decision to revoke the citizenship of prominent religious scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim almost two years ago.

The movement called on the international community to wake up and take note of the human rights violation unfolding in Bahrain.

The defendants convicted earlier in the day received sentences ranging from one to 10 years behind bars. They were charged with rioting and taking part in an illegal gathering.  

On May 23, 2017, Bahraini forces raided the village of Diraz, which had been under a military siege for almost a year, and stormed into the home of Sheikh Isa Qassim, putting the cleric under house arrest.

The ailing cleric has since left the country to receive medical treatment.

Regime forces martyred at least five demonstrators, wounded dozens and arrested over 280 people during the crackdown.

SS