Bahrain Court Upholds Jail Term for Top Shiite Sheikh
Sheikh Isa Qassim, a leader in the minority Shiite community within Sunni Bahrain, will be detained for a year and will lose his citizenship.
Bahrain’s supreme court on Monday upheld a one-year jail term for Shiite spiritual leader Sheikh Isa Qassim and confirmed a decision to revoke the cleric’s citizenship, a legal source said.
Mr. Qassim, 76, who last month underwent surgery, was convicted by a criminal court in May of illegal fundraising and money laundering.
Authorities had accused him of abusing his position as a cleric to “serve foreign interests and promote… sectarianism and violence.”
The supreme court, whose rulings are final, also confirmed the same verdict for two of the cleric’s aides, Sheikh Hussein Mahrus and Mirza al-Obaidli, the source said.
Mr. Qassim was being briefly hospitalized last month for blood pressure and diabetes-related treatment.
He has been under de facto house arrest at his residence in the village of Diraz, outside Manama, since his citizenship was revoked two years ago.
The cleric, revered by the Shiite community, was a leader of 2011 protests in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.
Despite repeated calls from their Western allies, Bahrain’s rulers have made no concessions to the Shiite opposition and have intensified a crackdown on critics.
His health has also been poor as he was in critical condition last December.
The strategic Gulf kingdom is a key regional ally of the United States and serves as home for its Fifth Fleet.
Bahrain is known to crackdown on dissidents. Nabeel Rajab, one of Bahrain’s most outspoken activists, has been incarcerated for many years.
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