Ayatollah Sheikh Qassim flown to UK in critical condition
Bahrain's prominent religious scholar, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim has been flown to the UK for medical treatment, marking an end to more than a year of house arrest.
According to Press TV< his medical team issued a statement on Monday, confirming his transfer abroad in order to avoid further complications in his health.
"Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim left Bahrain for England Monday morning, July 9, 2018.This measure has been taken on the basis of medical reports and consensus of his doctors who emphasized the need for his immediate transfer to a specialized hospital to prevent a further deterioration," the statement said.
The religious scholar, under house arrest since May 2017, was earlier taken to Bahrain International Airport by ambulance, local reports say.
Sheikh Qassim was taken to a private hospital in critical condition late last year, and underwent surgery in February.
The news comes as the ruling Aal-e Khalifah minority regime seeks to silence the opposition and put its leaders in jail, send them into exile or revoke their citizenship.
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