Bahrainis to Hold Massive Rally ahead of Sheikh Qassem Trial
According to al-Alam news network, those participating in a sit-in outside the residence of distinguished religious figure in the northwestern village of Diraz, situated about 12 kilometers west of the capital Manama, said all people in the Persian Gulf island country will switch off lights at 8:30 local time as a symbolic gesture.
They will then chant the slogan Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and take to the streets in protest at the regime’s decision to put Sheikh Qassem on trial.
Cities and town across Bahrain will also be the scene of massive demonstrations in support of the senior cleric on Wednesday.
The Al Khalifah regime in Bahrain has declared Wednesday as the date for the trial of the distinguished cleric.
Bahraini sources said on Monday that Manama will bring to trial the 79-year-old Shia cleric on charges of "illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism” on July 27.
Sheikh Qassem has already rejected the charges against him.
Responding to the accusations leveled by the Bahraini criminal court, opposition groups in the Persian Gulf kingdom said the prominent Shia cleric would not attend the trial.
On June 20, Bahraini authorities stripped Sheikh Qassem of his citizenship less than a week after the country’s Justice Ministry suspended al-Wefaq and dissolved opposition al-Risala Islamic Association and Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassem.
Bahrain’s so-called administrative court later ordered the dissolution of al-Wefaq and the seizure of its funds.
The United Nations and several human rights bodies have slammed the Bahraini regime for stripping Sheikh Qassem of his citizenship as well as its widespread crackdown on opposition and political activists.
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 family 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 government in its crackdown on peaceful protests.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the Bahraini crackdown on the anti-regime activists.
