Manama: Bahrain's main opposition party says authorities have demolished 16 mosques as part of crackdown on dissent in the country over the past month.
Al Wefaq says 30 places of worship, including 16 mosques, have been destroyed since martial law was declared last month. The government "can't justify the demolition," Al Wefaq said in an e-mailed statement received Sunday.
"Any attempt to showcase the measure as a legal action will neither be convincing nor objective," the opposition bloc said.
Bahrain's security forces have been arresting activists and others including doctors since riot police drove protesters from their rallying point at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama on March 16.
The government declared a three-month state of emergency after GCC troops arrived to help quell protests. The Ministry of Justice said the buildings were "unlicensed regardless of any doctrine" and were demolished in an "effort to protect houses of worship and maintain their sanctity," Bahrain News Agency said April 22.
Justice Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa said describing the situation as an attempt to "undermine the nation's image and instigate sedition", according to the news service.
