Bahrainis support senior Shia cleric Sheikh Qassim

Bahrainis have taken to the streets in several villages and towns in support of senior Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim.

According to Press TV, on Friday, a mass protest was held near Imam Sadiq mosque in the village of Diraz, the hometown of the cleric.

The demonstrators condemned Manama’s continued ban on holding Friday prayers in the village.

On June 20, Bahraini authorities stripped the 79-year-old cleric of his citizenship, less than a week after suspending the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the country’s main opposition bloc, and dissolving the Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Qassim, and the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.

People in the villages of Shakhoura and Abu Saiba also demonstrated in solidarity with Sheikh Qassem and the political detainees despite tightened security measures.

Similar anti-regime demonstrations were held in the villages of Ma'ameer, Karbabad, Shahrakan, Sehla al-Janoubia and Musalla as well as the town of A'ali and the island of Nabih Saleh.

The protesters also condemned the Ale Khalifah regime for its persecution of the Shia community.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country on February 14, 2011. The protesters demand that the Ale Khalifah dynasty relinquish power.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the regime’s crackdown.

ME