Bahrain Revokes Citizenship of 31 Activists

Local Editor

The Bahraini government revoked the citizenship of 31 opposition activists claimed for threats to state security, the interior ministry said.
The four arrested include prominent opposition figures: Dr Saeed Shehabi, London-based Bahraini political activist and member of the Bahrain Freedom Movement, former MP Jalal Fairooz and Hassan Mushaima, the head of the Haq Movement - a high-profile Bahraini opposition group.
In parallel, the Bahraini authorities claimed "the citizenship was revoked for violating Article 10 of the country's Citizenship Act, which allows for the revocation of rights if the individual damages or threatens the state's security."

The government's move comes after Bahrain late last month banned all protests and gatherings to ensure "security is maintained."
Bahrain also claimed that it detained four suspects in connection to the five bombings that killed two people in the capital of Manama.
"Their terrorist practices prove that they have been trained outside the kingdom," Bahrain News Agency quoted Information Minister Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab as claiming.
 
Bahrain is home to the US fifth fleet. The US-allied government has struggled to suppress the pro-democracy and largely Shiite opposition movement.
Since the uprising began in February 2011, Bahraini police have responded with brutal force, and have been accused of carrying out midnight house raids in Shia neighborhoods, denying prisoners medical care and beating detainees at checkpoints.

Some 3,000 people have been arrested, and at least five people have died from torture while in custody. By April 2012, more than 90 people had died during the uprising.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org