Report Features Al Khalifa Regime’s Oppression of Shia Scholars
According to Bahrain al-Yawm website, the report, released on Friday, features treatment of Shia scholars by the ruling Al Khalifa regime since the beginning of the popular uprising in the Persian Gulf Arab country in 2011.
It says that between 2011 and 2017, as many as 156 Shia scholars were summoned by security forces because of their speeches and expressing their views.
Of them, 89 were arbitrarily arrested, the report points out.
It also says that 50 Shia scholars have received unjust sentences ranging from heavy fines to life imprisonment and death.
The citizenship of at least 19 prominent scholars, including Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, the leader of Bahrain’s Shia majority, has also been revoked by the Manama government, it says.
Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the kingdom in mid-February 2011.
They are demanding that the Al Khalifa 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 Bahraini regime in its crackdown on dissent.
Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown.
