Alwaght- A number of Bahraini clerics staged a rally on Saturday to voice their solidarity with Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim and denounce the authorities' decision to revoke his citizenship.
The Western-backed Al Khalifa regime stripped Ayatollah Qassem of his rightful citizenship over three weeks ago, escalating crackdown against the country's Shiite Muslim majority.
"Ayatollah Qassim represents a symbol of the Shiite sect in the country and targeting him means the entire sect is being targeted," stressed the clerics during the rally, according to BahrainMirror website.
They further called for "reversing this decision to guarantee the country's security and stability," expressing their complete rejection of the move.
The clerics also demanded "lifting the siege on the Diraz area, which was imposed since the launch of the central sit-in staged outside Ayatollah Qassim's house on June 20."
Revoking Sheikh Qassem's citizenship, Bahrain accused him of sowing "sectarianism and violence," blaming him for the protests which have continued for years despite a heavy-handed crackdown on the island's mostly Shiite community.
The decision against Sheikh Qassim followed the suspension of Bahrain's main opposition group, al-Wefaq, who's political chief Sheikh Ali Salman was serving a nine-year jail term on trumped up charges of inciting violence.
