Bahrain court dissolves main opposition bloc

The Justice Ministry shut down the opposition group last week, accusing it of helping to foster violence in the Middle Eastern country.

It said the bloc had “criticised the performance of the state authorities – executive, judicial, and legislative”.

On June 28, its defence lawyers withdrew from court proceedings in protest at the government’s push to accelerate the process, which was initially set for October 6.

The administrative court in Manama found the association guilty of harbouring terrorists among other charges.

Last month, a Bahraini court ruled to indefinitely suspend the activities of Al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s largest opposition movement.

In addition, the society provided an environment that embraced terrorism, extremism and violence and called for foreign interference in the national affairs, it said.

It was an allusion to Iran, which Bahrain accuses of fomenting unrest among its Shiite majority.

Bahrain’s Sunni-led government, mainly drawn from the ruling al-Khalifa family, has been rattled by opposition calls for major reforms, including a cabinet chosen from an elected parliament, and a deep financial crisis that has forced it to cut subsidies and increase basic prices.

Sunday’s ruling came amid appeals by the United Nations, United States and rights groups for the legal action against Al-Wefaq to be dropped.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 (SPIEF 2016) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 16, 2016.

In recent months, Manama has intensified its crackdown on leading Shiite figures.

Al-Wefaq’s political leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, was sentenced to nine years in prison at the end of May on charges that include attempting overthrow the regime and inciting sectarian hatred.

Bahrain has been rocked by revolt since 2011, when pro-democracy protests erupted in the tiny Gulf state as part of the “Arab Spring” uprisings. This ruling is the latest in a series of disconcerting steps in Bahrain, including the Government of Bahrain’s revocation of Sheikh Isa Qassem’s citizenship and the arrest of human rights activist Nabil Rajab.

“Today’s decision is a unsafe mistake, leaving no real outlet for peaceful grievance left in Bahrain”, he said.