(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Bahrain's main opposition al-Wefaq has appealed against an administrative court ruling last month that dissolved the group illegally and allegedly found it guilty of fostering terrorism, a leading Wefaq official said on Tuesday.
The court decision to dissolve al-Wefaq was part of a wider government crackdown on an opposition mainly comprised of Shi'ite Muslims demanding reforms and a bigger say in running the Western-allied Gulf Arab state.
Ali Alaswad, a former member of the Bahraini parliament for al-Wefaq who lives in Europe, said the group officially submitted an appeal "to challenge the verdict of the high civil court issued...dissolving the society and liquidating its funds". The court set a first hearing for Sept. 20.
Government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
It drew U.S. and U.N. criticism in June when it moved to strip a top Shi'ite cleric's citizenship and announced it was suspending Wefaq and closing its offices.
Bahrain's Shi'ites complain of state discrimination.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the regime crackdown on protesters.
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