Alwaght- Bahraini forces have detained at least 32 people during separate raids on a number of houses across the kingdom in the past 24 hours as the ruling Al Khalifah regime heightens its heavy-handed crackdown on political dissidents.
Bahraini troops stormed the besieged northwestern village of Diraz, situated some 12 kilometers west of the capital Manama, detaining 13 people, including minors, local sources said. Bahraini regime forces had earlier detained more than a dozen political dissidents in the same Bahraini region. Diraz is the home village of Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahraini Shiite Muslims, who constitute the majority in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom. Sheikh Qassim, had his citizenship revoked in June 2016 over accusations that he had used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence. The cleric has denied the allegations. Since then, Sheikh Qassim who is in his 70s has been confined to house arrest, resulting in the deterioration of his health condition.
Elsewhere in the northern village of Buri, located about 13 kilometers southwest of Manama, Bahraini forces raided a house and ransacked it. They later arrested brothers Abdullah and Mohammed Saleh Mahdi.
Local sources noted that the incidents took place as regime soldiers did not have a search or arrest warrant with them.
Meanwhile, Bahraini female detainee Hajer Mansoor, 49, was admitted to hospital Thursday, her family said, three days after launching her second hunger strike behind bars to protest the treatment of prisoners. Hajer Mansoor Hassan and her 18-year-old son were sentenced to three years in jail in October, in a trial decried by rights groups as an act of political reprisal against Bahraini activists. She was hospitalized with hypoglycemia, three days after starting a hunger strike to protest the treatment of inmates at the notorious Isa Town Prison, her son-in-law Sayed Alwadaei said.
Elsewhere, Bahraini authorities have adjourned the trial of prominent Shia and opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman to late next month. A court in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom decided to put off the trial until April 24.
The senior Bahraini Shiite cleric has been in jail on a nine-year prison sentence since late 2014 for what the Manama regime has called “insulting” government officials, “inciting” unrest through his speeches targeting the authorities during the 2011 uprising, attempting to overthrow the regime and collaborating with foreign powers.
Sheikh Salman denies all the charges, saying he has merely been seeking reforms in the country through peaceful means.
