Bahraini authorities arrest 30 religious scholars in wide campaign of raids

MANAMA, Ma 09 (YPA) – A large number of Shiite clerics and seminary professors were arrested by Bahrain authorities in opposition groups described as an ongoing campaign against the country’s Jaafari religious community

The arrests included dozens of prominent religious figures, as well as two sons of senior cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, drawing condemnation from the Islamic National Wefaq Society.

The group said a recent statement by the Bahraini Interior Ministry signaled the start of a sectarian-based security campaign.

Wefaq called on the authorities to halt what it described as the targeting of Jaafari Muslims, warning against rhetoric that links political issues to sectarian identity, amid continuing human rights criticism over the revocation of citizenship from individuals accused of “sympathizing with Iran.”

AA