Bahraini Opposition Abroad Calls for Protests in Solidarity with Sheikh Qassim
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Bahraini dissidents living abroad called on the people of the Persian Gulf country to continue their demonstrations in solidarity with Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Shiites in the Arab kingdom, as Manama plans to hold the trial of the top cleric next week.
In a statement released on Monday, the Bahraini dissidents called on the citizens of the Arab country to declare days of “public outrage” from next Sunday, local media reports said.
They asked the Bahraini citizens to continue “civil disobedience” until the regime puts an end to the trial of Sheikh Qassim and apologizes for oppressing Shiites and acknowledges the people’s right to self-determination.
The statement also said the “autocratic Al Khalifa regime” is going to hold the trial session of the cleric on March 14 on the anniversary of the Saudi forces’ deployment to Bahrain.
The trial session of Sheikh Qassim had been scheduled on February 27 but was adjourned until March 14 after the prominent cleric refused to appear in court.
It came as dozens of the cleric’s supporters continued their sit-in in front of his house in the restive tow of Diraz, west of Manama.
The Bahraini regime announced on June 20, 2016, that it had revoked the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim. The regime later said it would put the senior cleric on trial on charges of “illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism”.
Sheikh Qassim’s previous trials had also been postponed after the prominent cleric did not appear in court.
