Bahraini cleric slams US for preaching democracy, AL for silence

Top Bahraini cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has slammed the US and the Arab League for turning a blind eye to Manama’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests, Press TV reports.

Addressing thousands of Bahrainis attending Friday Prayers in the village of Diraz, the senior cleric said that while preaching democracy the US is supporting the Bahraini government in its crackdown on demonstrators who demand justice and their rights.

He also criticized the Arab League for not even mentioning the crisis in Bahrain in its latest meeting in Baghdad late last month.

The cleric also called for the immediate release of prisoners and urged the government to halt its attacks on protesters.

Qassim’s remarks came as Bahrainis are planning more protest rallies in response to the ruling Al Khalifa regime’s defiance of international calls for the release of top rights activists Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have arrested al-Khawaja’s daughter, Zainab, for protesting against her father’s detention near the Interior Ministry. Activists say she has now been transferred to a prison outside Manama.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, demanding political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores of people have also been killed and many others have been injured in the Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain.