News / Persian Gulf

Emboldened Bahrain gives dissidents harsh sentences

Thursday, 25 May 2017 2:06 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 29 May 2017 8:00 AM ]

This photo shows Bahraini anti-regime protesters in Diraz, Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim's native village, May 22, 2017.

A Bahraini court has issued harsh sentences against over a dozen dissidents on the heels of the regime forces' brutal raid on the house of Sheikh Isa Qassim and ensuing clashes with supporters of the prominent Shia cleric.

Bahrain's Lualua television network reported on Thursday that the court had sentenced five dissidents to life in prison and stripped eight others of their citizenship.

Separately on Thursday, Bahraini sources said the Khayf Mosque Imam, Sheikh Isa al-Mou'min, had been arrested to serve a three-month jail term.

The verdicts came two days after regime forces violently stormed into Sheikh Qassim’s residence in the village of Diraz, killing at least five people, injuring dozens more and detaining over 280 others.

Since then, Bahraini citizens have flocked into the streets of several parts of the country to denounce the bloodshed and express their solidarity with Sheikh Qassim. There has also been demonstrations outside Bahrain's diplomatic missions in Iraq.

An Iraqi man holds a picture of Bahraini Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim during a demonstration in front of the Bahraini consulate in Najaf, Iraq, May 24, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The clergyman’s fate remains unknown, with some reports saying he is under house arrest.

Qassim was stripped of his nationality last June over accusations that he had used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence. Despite denying the charges, the cleric was handed a suspended one-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine last week.

Saudi Arabia, which has been assisting the Manama regime in its crackdown on pro-democracy protests, defended Tuesday's attack.

Rights organizations say the Al Khalifah regime has been emboldened by US President Donald Trump's support of the kingdom.

"Yet again the architects of bloody destabilizing violence in Bahrain appear to be the Al Khalifah government, and the timing of this operation - two days after [Bahraini] King Hamad's [bin Isa Al Khalifah] convivial meeting with President Trump - can hardly be a coincidence," said the Human Rights Watch.

The father of one of the victims of the Diraz raid, identified as Mohammad al-Sari, said in a newly-released video that Bahrainis would not retreat until victory.

Since 2011, Bahrain has been the scene of peaceful anti-regime protests against the systematic abuse of the Shia population and discrimination against them. The Bahraini regime has responded to the protests with excessive and lethal force, which has drawn international criticism.

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