Bahraini security forces killed at least five and injured hundreds on Tuesday attacking protesters outside Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim's homein Diraz village.
The regime's interior ministry conferred the toll, adding that over Al Khalifa troops also detained 286 people who were holding sit-in in solidarity with majority Shiite's leader. It is not yet clear whether Sheikh Qassim himself is among the detainees.
Security forces fired birdshots at protesters and teargas into the house of the prominent cleric.
The village has been a scene of protests since June 20, 2016, when the western-Backed Al Khalifa regime revoked his citizenship.
The unprecedented incursion into Diraz followed Ayatollah Qassim’s sentencing on Sunday on charges of the illegal collection of funds and money laundering. He was sentenced to one year in jail suspended for three years. The charges emanate from the collection of an Islamic donation known as Khums, which in Shiite Islam is collected and spent by a senior cleric in the interests of the needy.
Human Right Groups Condemn the Attack
Human right organizations strongly denounced Manama's crackdown on Shiites who make the majority of the Persian Gulf tiny Island's population.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Tuesday, "Yet again the architects of bloody destabilizing violence in Bahrain appear to be the Al Khalifah government, and the timing of this operation - two days after [Bahraini] King Hamad's [bin Isa Al Khalifah] convivial meeting with [US] President [Donald] Trump - can hardly be a coincidence."
Amnesty International has also slammed the Manama regime's excessive use of force against protesters, stressing that the village has been under siege for over 11 months.
"Today’s disturbing developments again show the consequences of rampant impunity enjoyed by the security forces. There must be a prompt, independent investigation and those responsible for unlawful killing and other arbitrary or abusive force must be prosecuted. The authorities must rein in the security forces, order that they strictly comply with international standards on police use of force, and ensure the right to peaceful protest is protected,” said Amnesty's Director of Campaigns Samah Hadid.
"Our information indicates that police attacked what started out as a peaceful demonstration. International standards require that law enforcement must not use lethal force unless unavoidable to protect against a threat to life or risk of serious injury," she added.
Iran and Hezbollah React
Iranian Foreign Minister on his twitter account highlighted the timing off the attack that came days after American President's meeting with Bahraini king Hamad Al Khalifa, suggesting the visit has emboldened him to commit such atrocities.
"First concrete result of POTUS cozying up to despots in Riyadh: Deadly attack on peaceful protesters by emboldened Bahrain regime. Google it," Mohammad Javad Zarif Said on his twitter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Hezbollah issued a statement warning Al Khalifa regime of "serious unanticipated repercussions" if anything happens to the top cleric.
The Lebanese resistance movement called on the independent states and organizations to denounce the crime and exert their efforts to protect this prominent national leader, hailing the sacrifices of Diraz locals.
The Lebanese group further stressed that Sheikh Qassim "is a noble, pious religious scholar who represents a national symbol that guarantees civil peace," adding that "his eminence grants the Bahraini nationality its value."
Hezbollah condemned what it described as a "brutal attack on the unarmed safe locals of Diraz and on the young believers who have held a sit-in for many months for the sake of their religious authority, religion, homeland and dignity."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/6727
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