Bahraini Regime Adjourns Trial of Sheikh Qassim until March 14
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Al Khalifa regime postponed the trial of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite majority, until March 14, as the supporters of the prominent cleric continued a sit-in outside his house in the restive village of Diraz, local media reports said.
The trial session of Sheikh Qassim had been scheduled on Monday, February 27, but was adjourned until March 14 after the prominent cleric refused to appear in court, Bahraini Mirror news website reported.
It came as dozens of supporters of Sheikh Qassim continued their sit-in in front of the house of the cleric in Diraz, west of Manama, on Monday.
People also staged demonstrations in other cities across the Persian Gulf country on Sunday night in solidarity with the top Shiite cleric.
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.
In the meantime, a sit-in that supporters of Sheikh Qassim have staged in front of his house in Diraz to protect him against the regime forces has remained in place for months.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
