Citizenship of 743 Bahrainis Revoked: Rights Group
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Bahraini regime, in yet another move to silence the voices of dissent, revoked the nationality of five more citizens of the Persian Gulf country on political grounds, increasing the number of those deprived of their citizenship to 743, a human rights group said.
The Peace for Democracy and Human Rights Organization in Bahrain said in a report that the Bahraini regime’s courts have sentenced five other citizens to deprivation of their nationality on political charges.
The organization added that the number of those deprived of their citizenship in the island country since 2012 has reached 743.
According to the report, 31 Bahraini citizens were deprived of their nationality in 2012, 21 in 2014, 208 in 2015, 90 in 2016, 156 in 2017, and 237 in 2018 so far.
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.
Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.
Since 1980s, the ruling Al Khalifa regime has been trying to change the Kingdom’s demographic structure which largely consists of Shiites.
