Bahraini scholars slam Al Khalifah crackdown on Shi’a figures

Rasa – Bahraini scholars have slammed the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown on Shi’a figures, calling for an end to the summoning and arrest of opposition clerics.

News ID: 422638

Date: 03 August 2016 - 22:50

RNA – The continued summoning and arrest of Bahraini clerics, including Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Majid al-Masha’al, the secretary of the Islamic Scholars Council, will certainly have a negative effect on Bahrain’s security and stability, the scholars said in a statement on Tuesday.

They also urged the Al Khalifah regime to immediately release Hujjat al-Islam al-Masha’al and other political detainees.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Masha’al was arrested on July 30 when Bahraini regime forces raided his home. On January 29, 2014, a Bahraini court decided to dissolve the Islamic Scholars Council, which includes a number of prominent Shi’a scholars, and ordered the liquidation of its assets.

The scholars also called on the Bahraini regime to address the recent developments in the country through dialogue.

The Manama regime has recently intensified its crackdown on the Shi’a community and the opposition.

The founder of the Islamic Scholars Council, Shaykh Isa Qasim, has been himself stripped of his citizenship and is being tried at a court over trumped-up charges.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has seen a wave of anti-regime protests since mid-February 2011.

The Al Khalifah regime is engaged in a harsh crackdown on dissent.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded or detained in Manama’s ongoing crackdown.

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