20-21 june 2016

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain
strips
top
Shi'ite Muslim cleric of
citizenship
Bahrain has revoked the
citizenship of the spiritual
leader of the kingdom's
Shi'ite Muslim majority, the
state news agency reported
on Monday, prompting
protests outside his home
and a sharp rebuke from an
Iranian paramilitary chief.
The move against Ayatollah
Isa Qassim comes less than
a week after a court ordered
Bahrain's main opposition
al-Wefaq group closed,
accusing it of fomenting
sectarian unrest and of
having links to a foreign
power, in an apparent
reference to regional Shi'ite
power Iran.

The move against Qassim

was the latest one taken by
Bahrain where a Shiite
majority is ruled by a Sunni
monarchy against Shiite
figures in the country,
in what appears to be an
escalating campaign against
dissent in the Western-allied
Gulf kingdom.
Bahrain
has
defended
its actions against Shi'ite
Muslim figures in the
context of national security.
Qassim could potentially
face expulsion from the
country.

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Bahrian is a U.S. Gulf

ally and hosts the U.S.
Navy's Fifth Fleet.

U.S. criticizes Bahrain's

move to strip cleric of
citizenship
The United States is
"alarmed" by Bahrian's
decision to revoke
the citizenship of the
spiritual
leader
of
the country's Shi'ite
Muslim majority, a
spokesman said on
Monday.
"We are alarmed by
today's decision to
revoke the citizenship
of Shia cleric Sheikh
Isa
Qassim,"
State
Department spokesman
John Kirby said. "We
are unaware of any
credible evidence to
support this action."

"follow foreign religious

ideologies and political
entities,"
an
apparent
reference to Shiite-majority
Iran.

Bahrain
strips
nationality from top
Shiite cleric
Bahrain's
government
on Monday stripped the
country's leading Shiite
cleric of his nationality
in a move that brought
thousands of protesters into
the streets and threatened
to further ignite sectarian
tensions across the region.
The Bahrain News Agency
quoted the Interior Ministry
as saying that Sheikh Isa
Qassim had played a key
role in creating an extremist
sectarian atmosphere and
had formed groups that

The move was welcomed by

Bahrain's Sunni-led allies
but condemned by Shiites,
and could serve as another
flashpoint for tensions
stoked by the rivalry
between Saudi Arabia and
Iran.
After the decision was
announced,
thousands
of Qassim's supporters
gathered outside of his house
in the mostly Shiite village of
Diraz, carrying posters and
chanting religious slogans
as well as slogans against
Bahrain's king and the Saudi
monarchy. It was the largest
protest in at least two years.

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Bahrain's
Sheikh
Isa
Qassim was stripped of his
nationality on Monday. The
Interior Ministry says he
played a key role in creating
an
extremist
sectarian
atmosphere.

UN human rights chief

decries 'crackdown' in
Bahrain
The office of the U.N. human
rights chief is decrying an
"intensified
crackdown"
on freedoms and rights in
Bahrain after the country's
top Shiite cleric was stripped
of his nationality and is
urging authorities to "deescalate" the situation.
Rights office spokeswoman
Ravina Shamdasani on
Tuesday
appealed
on
Bahrain to ensure civil
society
activists
won't
face
"undue
pressure,
intimidation or reprisals."

Shamdasani
said
the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights guarantees
the right to nationality,
which cannot be taken away
for "arbitrary" reasons.
She also urged Bahrain
to ensure respect of the
right to peaceful assembly.
Thousands have protested
in Qassim's mostly Shiite
village of Diraz.

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Shi'ite figures, in what

appears to be an escalating
campaign against dissent
in the Western-allied Gulf
kingdom.

Bahrain's
move
against Shi'ite leader
unjustified UN
Bahrain's decision to revoke
the citizenship of the spiritual
leader of the kingdom's
Shi'ite Muslim majority
is
"clearly
unjustified"
under international law, a
spokeswoman for the U.N.
human rights office said on
Tuesday.
"Given that due process
was not followed, it cannot
be
justified,"
Ravina
Shamdasani told a U.N.
briefing in Geneva.
The move against Ayatollah
Isa Qassim was the latest
taken by Bahrain - where a
Shi'ite majority is ruled by
a Sunni monarchy - against

Shamdasani said deprivation

of nationality was permitted
under certain conditions but
it had to serve a legitimate
purpose, be proportionate
to the interests protected
and there had to be some
recourse to appeal.

"Given the numbers

that
we're
talking
about in Bahrain, we're
talking a minimum of
250 people who have
been deprived of their
nationality, but there
are some estimates that
go much higher than
that, given that, it is
clearly unjustified," she
said.
Read more

Bahrains Sunni Rulers

Revoke Citizenship of
Top Shiite Cleric
Escalating a crackdown on
political opposition, the
Sunni monarchy inBahrain
said Monday that it had
revoked the citizenship of a
top cleric who is regarded
as the spiritual voice of the
countrys Shiite majority.
Rights activists and other
critics said the move against
the cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh
Isa Qassim, is likely to
further inflame divisions in
Bahrain, a tiny Persian Gulf
kingdom that is home to the
United States Navys Fifth
Fleet and is an important
American ally.
Bahrain
has
been
periodically
roiled
by

interior said.

Bahrain
risks
new
sectarian tensions by
stripping Shia cleric of
citizenship
Bahrain has stripped the
country's top Shia cleric of
his citizenship in a move
that threatens to spark
fresh unrest in the Gulf
state and tension with Shias
throughout the Middle East.
Bahrain's Sunni government
accused Isa Qassim, the
spiritual leader of the
country's Shia majority, of
promoting
"sectarianism
and violence" and serving
"foreign interests".
"Through his sermons and
'fatwas', he exploited the
religious pulpit for political
purposes to serve foreign
interests," the ministry of

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The Interior Ministry, in

a statement carried by
Bahrains
official
news
agency, said that Ayatollah
Qassim, through sermons
and religious edicts, had
fomented
sectarianism,
collected funds unlawfully
and exploited the religious
pulpit for political purposes
to serve foreign interests.

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hundred Qassim supporters
gathered outside his house
in the mostly Shia village of
Diraz, carrying posters and
chanting religious slogans.

Sheikh Qassim has close

ties to Iran and has been an
outspoken critic of Bahrain's
king. Authorities have long
accused him of fomenting
unrestand even trying to
overthrow the government.
The decision to strip him of
his citizenship is the latest
in a series of crackdowns on
the Shia opposition.

protests
seeking
more
democracy since the Arab
Spring uprisings five years
ago, and its police and
security
agencies
have
a reputation for using
disproportionate
force.
Ayatollah Qassim has been
an outspoken critic of the
governments tactics.

Bahrain
strips
Sheikh Isa Qassim of
nationality
Bahrain has stripped a
leading Shia spiritual leader
of his Bahraini nationality
following a request from the
interior ministry.
The Bahrain News Agency
quoted the interior ministry
on Monday as saying that
Sheikh Isa Qassim had
played a key role in creating
an "extremist" sectarian
atmosphere and working to
divide Bahraini society.
After the decision was
announced,
several

Sayed Alwadaei, director

of advocacy at the Bahrain
Institute for Rights and
Democracy, said in a
statement that the decision
will escalate tensions and
may lead to violence.

Read more