Top Bahraini court upholds dissolution of opposition al-Wefaq party

Bahrain’s supreme court of appeal has upheld the dissolution of the country’s main Shia opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, as the ruling Aal-e Khalifah regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners in the tiny Persian Gulf island State.

On Monday, the Court of Cassation turned down an earlier appeal to challenge al-Wefaq’s dissolution and seizure of its assets, and upheld a previous ruling.

On July 17, 2016, the High Administrative Court ordered the dissolution of al-Wefaq and the seizure of its funds.

The court ruling drew criticism from the United Nations, with then Secretary General Ban Ki-moon describing the dissolution as “the latest in a series of restrictions of the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression in Bahrain.”  

The Justice Ministry had suspended the activities of the opposition group on June 14, 2016.

Distinguished opposition religious scholar Sheikh Ali Salman, who used to lead al-Wefaq, was arrested in December 2014 for backing reforms in the country through peaceful means.

SS