Bahrain Court Rules to Close All Opposition Al-Wefaq Party's Branches
16:36 14.06.2016
Bahrain's Court of Cassation on Tuesday ruled to close all offices of Al-Wefaq, the largest opposition party in the Gulf countries, in a response to an appeal lodged by the country's Ministry of Justice, the ministry said in a statement.
MANAMA (Sputnik) – Al-Wefaq organized mass protest rallies against the current royal power in Bahrain.
"In order to protect the society through the law from organizations that are dangerous as they are following religious and political foreign doctrine, the court decided to close all offices of the Al-Wefaq organization, freeze all its accounts and activities," the statement published by the state-run Bahrain News Agency read.
Al-Wefaq's leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to four years in prison for inciting hatred and disobedience as well as insulting public institutions in 2015. Earlier in June, the court decided to increase the sentence up to nine years.
Since 2011, the Sunni regime in Bahrain has been locked in a struggle with an opposition movement led primarily by Shiites, the country's majority. The protesters have called for political freedom, equality and a parliamentary system that operates independently of Bahrain's Sunni royal family.
© Sputnik
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