A court in Bahrain on Wednesday ordered the country’s last main opposition group dissolved and its property confiscated in the latest blow to reformers and dissenting voices in the Middle Eastern island-nation.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said the political society known as Waad plans to appeal the ruling.
Waad confirmed the court order for its dissolution on its official Twitter account.
The Bahraini Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs had launched proceedings to dissolve the 15-year-old group, alleging that Waad incited acts of terrorism, promoted the violent overthrow of the Sunni-led government, and “glorified convicted terrorists and saboteurs.”
The government used similarly broad wording to dissolve the country’s largest Shiite opposition group, al-Wefaq.
Bahrain is a majority Shiite nation ruled by a Sunni monarchy with close ties to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which sent forces to help quell an Arab Spring style uprising in 2011.
An official at the US Department of State in Washington said the US is “deeply concerned” by the court decision to dissolve Waad and urges the government to reconsider its judicial action against the group.
“As we have consistently maintained, opposition parties that peacefully voice criticism of the government play a vital role in encouraging societies that are tolerant, inclusive and pluralistic,” said Edgar Vasquez, a Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs spokesman.
However, last month US President Donald Trump touted Washington’s “wonderful relationship” with Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
His administration has also notified the US Congress it plans to approve a multi billion-dollar sale of F-16 fighter jets to Bahrain without the human rights conditions imposed by the department under US president Barack Obama.
Bahrain accuses Shiite-ruled Iran of arming and training some protesters to destabilize the country.
Waad’s dissolution comes a week after five people died in a police raid on the hometown of a prominent Shiite cleric who was stripped of his nationality and faces possible deportation.
Police arrested 286 people in the raid, adding to the hundreds more who have been jailed, forced into exile or stripped of their nationality in recent years.
Two smaller opposition groups remain active, but Waad was seen as the last major opposition group still functioning in Bahrain. The secular group included Shiite and Sunni activists, and political figures.
“Today matters because it says the government won’t just not tolerate Shiite opposition, it won’t tolerate any opposition,” Human Rights First senior advisor Brian Dooley said.
Amnesty International said: “Bahrain is now heading towards total suppression of human rights.”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was