AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Agencies
Saturday

7 April 2012

3:57:00 AM
306927

Sheikh Issa Qassim slams US and Arab League for given green light to al-Khalifa’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests

Top Bahraini Shi'a cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim has slammed the US and the Arab League for turning a blind eye to Manama’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Top Bahraini Shi'a cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim has slammed the US and the Arab League for turning a blind eye to Manama’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.

Addressing thousands of Bahrainis attending Friday Prayers in the village of Diraz, the senior cleric said that while preaching democracy the US is supporting the Bahraini government in its crackdown on demonstrators who demand justice and their rights.

He also criticized the Arab League for not even mentioning the crisis in Bahrain in its latest meeting in Baghdad late last month.

The cleric also called for the immediate release of prisoners and urged the government to halt its attacks on protesters.

Qassim's remarks came as Bahrainis are planning more protest rallies in response to the ruling Al Khalifa regime’s defiance of international calls for the release of top rights activists Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have arrested al-Khawaja’s daughter, Zainab, for protesting against her father's detention near the Interior Ministry. Activists say she has now been transferred to a prison outside Manama.

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