Bahrain’s treatment of religious scolars is extremely harsh, report says

A new report has been released documenting the harsh treatment of the religious scholars in Bahrain since an uprising began in the country in early 2011.

The report, published Saturday by the Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, a rights campaigning group based in Britain, said the ruling Aal-e Khalifa minority regime had committed a total of 313 cases of rights abuse against religious scholars since 2011.

The report studied court orders, government decrees and other actions by police and security forces against the clerics between 2011 and 2017, saying clerics in the tiny Persian Gulf island State have been subject to various forms of rights violations including death sentences, life imprisonment, citizenship revocation, enforced deportation, arbitrary detention and other harsh prison sentences.

It said the religious scholars, who have a huge base of public support in Bahrain, have badly suffered from humiliation and physical torture as a result of government treatment.

The report said a total of 156 scholars had been summoned only over the content of their sermons and speeches, which Manama deemed inappropriate. It said Manama’s widespread use of arbitrary arrests had affected 89 clerics in the seven-year period, while 50 clerics had received harsh sentences including death penalty, life in prison, citizenship revocation or payment of huge fines. Most of those sentenced have had no access to proper judicial services, it said.

SS