Following Manama’s violent crackdown this week on Diraz – hometown to Sheikh Isa Qassim, Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric and pro-democracy figurehead, news have surfaced that the fate of the Sheikh remains unknown.
Jalal Fairouz, a former MP now based in London noted: “No news whatsoever. All males living with the Sheikh were arrested. All phones were taken from the ladies. People of all houses in the neighbourhood were forced to evacuate. The Sheikh’s situation is not known.”
In the face of the regime’s propensity to use lethal methods of repression against innocent and unarmed civilians both Bahrainis and rights activists have expressed their concern over both the health and safety of Sheikh Isa Qassim.
Ever since Bahrainis rose to demand democratic reforms in 2011, al-Khalifa monarchy has worked to outlaw freedom of expression altogether.
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