On Sunday evening, dozens of people took to the streets in the northwestern village of Diraz, situated about 12 kilometers (seven miles) west of the capital, Manama, to express their outrage at the measure against Sheikh Qassim, Lualua television network reported.
Sheikh Qassim is the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, whose Secretary General, Sheikh Ali Salman, himself a prominent Shia cleric, has been in prison since December 2014.
The protesters held up portraits of Sheikh Qassim, lit candles, chanted slogans and carried placards in support of the 79-year-old clergyman and in condemnation of the ruling dynasty.
Bahraini authorities stripped Sheikh Qassim of his citizenship on June 20. Less than a week earlier, they had suspended al-Wefaq and dissolved opposition al-Risala Islamic Association and Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassim.
Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the Ale Khalifah family to relinquish power.
parstoday