Protests in Bahrain as Trial of Sheikh Isa Qassim Begins

Local Editor

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Bahrain to express solidarity with prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, whom the regime recently stripped of his nationality and started his trial.

The trial of Sheikh Qassim started on Wednesday by a court in Bahrain amid the widespread protests against the move.

The Bahraini regime pressed charges of "illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism" against Sheikh Qassim, who, in turn, rejected the accusations.

According to initial reports, the court session on Wednesday lasted a mere ten minutes.

The trial is commonly viewed as part of Bahrain's crackdown on political dissent.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the Al Khalifah rulers to relinquish power.

In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini regime in cracking down on the protests.

On the eve of Sheikh Qassim's trial, local residents switched off the lights of their houses in response to calls by opposition groups and chanted slogans on rooftops in condemnation of the trial.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team