Bahrain: Ayatollah Sheikh Qassim hospitalized in critical condition

Bahrain's most prominent religious scholar Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim has been taken to a private hospital in critical condition after weeks of suffering from deteriorating health.

According to Press TV, Sheikh Qassim's family and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights group confirmed his hospitalization on Monday and said he was in "critical condition."

He has been under house arrest for around 500 days amid daily protest gatherings in the northwestern village of Diraz which is besieged by regime forces.

Bahrain's leading political party al-Wefaq and rights bodies said the religious scholar was suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

Deputy Secretary-General of al-Wefaq Sheikh Hussein al-Daihi said the spiritual leader was taken from his home to a private hospital amid tight security measures. 

Ayatollah Sheikh Qassim has been hailed as a source of inspiration for their peaceful demonstrations against the ruling minority regime of Aal-e Khalifa in Bahrain.

The minority ruling regime has martyred scores of people and imprisoned hundreds of people among the protesters, who are campaigning for an elected government and a stop to discrimination against the Bahrian's Shia Muslim majority.

SS