Bahraini regime forces attack pro-Qassim protesters south of Manama
Bahraini regime forces have engaged in clashes with a group of people protesting verdicts passed on prominent religious scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim as the ruling Aal-e Khalifah minority regime continues with its heavy-handed crackdown against political dissidents in the Persian Gulf island State.
According to reports, on Thursday night, dozens of people took to the streets in al-Eker village south of the capital Manama, vowing to support the 77-year-old Sheikh Qassim, the spiritual leader of the country’s dissolved Shia opposition group al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
Regime forces then intervened and fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd. There were no reports of casualties or arrests.
On May 21, a regime court convicted Sheikh Qassim of illegal collection of funds and money laundering and sentenced him to one year in jail suspended for three years.
It also ordered him to pay $265,266 in fines. The court ruling sparked widespread demonstrations across the island.
Bahraini authorities stripped the cleric of his citizenship on June 20, 2016. They later dissolved the Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by him, in addition to the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.
Manama regime has stepped up crackdown on political dissent in the wake of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Bahrain's self-styled King Hamad bin Isa Aal-e Khalifah during a summit in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh last month.
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