News / Persian Gulf

Bahrainis protest as uprising anniversary approaches

Wednesday, 10 February 2016 5:03 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 10 February 2016 6:04 PM ]

This photo shows Bahraini people taking part in an anti-regime rally in Musalla village on February 10, 2016.

Bahraini anti-regime protesters have taken to the streets in the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy as "Come to Revolution" campaign picks up speed ahead of the fifth anniversary of the country's popular revolution.

Protesters staged a rally in the northern village of Musalla on Wednesday amid tight security and voiced their readiness to mark the anniversary of the uprising that engulfed their country on February 14, 2011.

The protesters were holding the Bahraini flags and photos of jailed political activists, including Sheikh Ali Salman who heads Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

Salman was arrested in December 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the ruling Al Khalifah regime and collaborating with foreign powers. He has strongly denied the charges, emphasizing that he has been seeking reforms in the kingdom through peaceful means.

In June 2015, a Bahraini court sentenced him to four years in prison on charges of insulting the Bahraini Interior Ministry and inciting disobedience to the law. He was cleared of subversion charges.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in the kingdom, calling for the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful rallies.

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