Dubai: Bahraini authorities have revoked the citizenship of an anti-government cleric, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions, the interior ministry said Monday.
Shaikh Eisa Qassem, considered the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite majority, was alleged to have used his position to “serve foreign interests and promote... sectarianism and violence,” the ministry said in a statement carried by BNA state news agency.
Qassem “adopted theocracy and stressed the absolute allegiance to the clergy,” the ministry said, adding that he had been in continuous contact with “organisations and parties that are enemies of the kingdom.”
The decision follows the suspension of Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, whose political chief Shaikh Ali Salman is serving a nine-year jail term for inciting violence.
Last week, Bahrain’s prime minister defended the measures taken by the government.
Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said it would target societies accused of breaking the law to ensure that political activism remains free of all forms of abuses that harm the democratic openness of Bahrain.
The premier added that all the measures were within the confines of the constitution and the laws in Bahrain and were taken through a fair and independent court ruling, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported late on Tuesday.
Prince Khalifa said that the measures taken by the government against those in breach of the laws and regulations were part of a bundle of initiatives that ensure the security and stability of Bahrainis and address all possible loopholes that could be exploited to allow foreign interference in the nation’s domestic affairs.
