AhlulBayt News Agency: A prominent Bahraini Shia scholar has been released by authorities, days after being arrested over calling for the release of political prisoners.
Sheikh Sanqour, the Friday prayers leader of Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz village, was detained on Monday. According to the Gulf state's main, yet outlawed, opposition group AlWefaq National Islamic Society, a number of security forces surrounded his house before handing him a summons for interrogation at a local police station and being taken before the Public Prosecution Office (OPP).
Hours later, a statement from the interior ministry said his case was being referred to OPP over "repeated inflammatory speeches that included legal violations" and "publicly inciting hatred and contempt for a group of people."
Middle East Eye reported that his arrest was believed to be linked to comments made during last week's Friday sermon, in which he raised concerns about the mistreatment of prisoners in the kingdom's jails.
"We call upon the relevant authorities to reassure the families of prisoners about their loved ones, as it has come to their knowledge that a number of prisoners have been subjected to abuse and physical violence. Some have been subjected to isolation, solitary confinement, and deprivation of adequate healthcare," he said during his sermon.
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Sheikh Sanqour, the Friday prayers leader of Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz village, was detained on Monday. According to the Gulf state's main, yet outlawed, opposition group AlWefaq National Islamic Society, a number of security forces surrounded his house before handing him a summons for interrogation at a local police station and being taken before the Public Prosecution Office (OPP).
Hours later, a statement from the interior ministry said his case was being referred to OPP over "repeated inflammatory speeches that included legal violations" and "publicly inciting hatred and contempt for a group of people."
Middle East Eye reported that his arrest was believed to be linked to comments made during last week's Friday sermon, in which he raised concerns about the mistreatment of prisoners in the kingdom's jails.
"We call upon the relevant authorities to reassure the families of prisoners about their loved ones, as it has come to their knowledge that a number of prisoners have been subjected to abuse and physical violence. Some have been subjected to isolation, solitary confinement, and deprivation of adequate healthcare," he said during his sermon.
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