Iranian Advisor Warns Bahraini Gov't against Consequences of Mistreating Sheikh Qassim

Rasa - Senior Advisor to the Iranian Parliament Speaker Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned the Bahraini government about the dire consequences of harassing and mistreating senior religious leader Sheikh Issa Qassim.

News ID: 428106

Date: 12 March 2017 - 20:18

RNA - "Holding trial for Ayatollah Sheikh Qassim is an unwise act and the Bahraini government should know that it will never be able to bear the consequences of such an unwise measure," Amir Abdollahian said in an interview with Bahrain's al-Lolo channel on Sunday.

"The Bahraini government is facing a serious crisis much worse than the challenge that it faced when detaining Sheikh Ali Salman, as trying Ayatollah Issa Qassim will be the depth of the crisis," he added.

Amir Abdollahian called on Manama to stop its insulting behavior toward the Shiite leader, Sheikh Issa Qassim.

Bahraini officials stripped Sheikh Qassim, the spiritual leader of the country’s dissolved opposition group al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, of his citizenship on June 20, 2016.

They later dissolved the Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by the 77-year-old cleric, in addition to the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.

The Manama regime has pressed charges of “illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism” against Sheikh Qassim, who has strongly denied them.

Anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the kingdom in mid-February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.

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