Another protest staged outside Bahraini consulate in Najaf in response to Sadr’s call
The Iraqi Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. File photo.
Several clerics and students in Najaf gathered in the morning in al-Hussainiya al-Aasamiya region to protest and express solidarity with Bahraini people before heading to the consulate, according to the reports.
Another protest was staged outside the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad. Both demonstrations came in response to the Iraqi influential Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s call, who called on Tuesday for staging protests outside the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Najaf to condemn the arrest of aides of Bahraini Shia Cleric Ayatollah Eissa Qassem in the Gulf kingdom.
Earlier on Tuesday, news reports mentioned that Bahraini security forces invaded Qassem’s home located west of Manama and arrested everyone inside. The raid came shortly after Qassem’s fans staged protests in support at his home village of al-Diraz, and two days after a top criminal court sentenced him to one-year in prison and freezed his assets.
It was not clear whether Qassem, who was stripped of his citizenship in 2016, was among those arrested.
Despite being ruled by a Sunni Muslim dynasty, Bahrain is home to a Shia majority.