Dubai: Authorities in Bahrain on Wednesday expelled the representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.
Shaikh Hussain Al Najati was among 31 Bahrainis who had their citizenship revoked in November 2012 over accusations that they had undermined state security, more than a year after authorities quelled unrest in March 2011.
Al Najati “practised unclear activities, without coordinating with authorities which discovered afterwards that he was Al Sistani’s representative,” the interior ministry said.
“Working as an official representative of any party necessitates a letter of accreditation that specifies responsibilities and planned activities,” it said.
Al Najati worked on “collecting funds and distributing them” in the name of the Iraq-based Al Sistani, one of the top Shiite spiritual guides, the ministry added.
Al Najati was born in 1960 to Iranian parents in Bahrain, it said.
He arrived on Wednesday in Lebanon, according to Bahrain’s Shiite Al Wefaq opposition association.
Bahrain remains divided three years after the February 2011 unrest, with persistent protests sparking clashes with police, scores of activists jailed on terror charges and reconciliation talks deadlocked.
