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Bahrain denaturalization of Sheikh Qassim Saudi plot: IRGC

This file photo taken on May 17, 2013 shows Bahrain's most senior Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, giving a speech to worshipers during the Friday prayers at a mosque in west of the capital, Manama. © AFP

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has denounced Bahrain’s revocation of the citizenship of the country’s most senior Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, saying the move was masterminded by the Saudi regime.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC said the “inhumane” measure by the “bloodthirsty and racist” Al Khalifah regime stands in contradiction to citizenship rights, Islamic principles and values, recognized international norms and regulations as well as the dignity of the people of the Arab world, including the Bahrainis.

It added that revoking the cleric’s citizenship is “a product of the anti-Islamic strategy and policies of the hegemonic system and Zionism and is considered a Saudi plot.”

"There is no doubt that the unwise measure of Al Khalifah against a character who is a prominent symbol of the grand Shia clerical society will fuel the flames of Bahrain’s Islamic Revolution and formation of a sweeping uprising against the dependent and ruling regime of this country,” the IRGC pointed out.

The statement said the “illegitimate and rotten” Bahraini regime is suffering from “political osteoporosis” and is committing crimes against the innocent Bahraini people backed by the Pharaonic ruthlessness of the Saudi regime.

It further warned that if the leaders of the Al Khalifah regime do not renounce their Zionist-pleasing adventurism and surrender to the rightful demands of the Bahraini people, they will face a fate similar to that of the slain dictators of other Muslim countries.

Bahrain on Monday revoked the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim, accusing him of sowing "sectarianism and violence."

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry claimed in a statement that Sheikh Qassim actively sought the “creation of a sectarian environment” through his connections with foreign powers.

The ministry claimed that the cleric had misused his religious position to advance a political agenda and serve foreign interests.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rrights said in a statement that the decision against the top Shia cleric "is yet another blow to freedom of speech and expression in Bahrain” and is “part of an escalating crackdown on freedoms and rights.”

It urged the government to “immediately and unconditionally reinstate the citizenship of Qassim and all those affected,” saying that it had documented evidence of at least 261 cases since 2012.


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