The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said in a statement on Wednesday that it has boycotted the negotiations for two weeks.

< q>“Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, and in coordination with the national democratic opposition parties, declares it will temporarily stop attending the dialogue’s preparation sessions for two weeks,” the statement read.
The statement also cited a recent raid on the house of prominent Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Ahmed Qassim as a reason for the halt.

On May 17, the country’s Saudi-backed security forces attacked the sheikh’s house in the village of Diraz near capital Manama.

Born in 1937, Sheikh Issa Qassem is often referred to as the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s main opposition party.

Six opposition groups have been holding talks with regime officials since February.

The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

Bahrainis say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – In a statement, Bahrain’s Human Rights Society voiced concern about the detention of the people in the country, specially the recent attack by so-called plainclothes forces on the home of Ali Abdullah Sa’ad, a young Bahraini national, in the village of Diya on May 14 and his detention without warrant.

The society said that Sa’ad has eye problems and his family said that medical evidence can substantiate the claim.

The society further said that the Bahraini authorities have provided no details about his health conditions in the past 6 days, and described the detention as a “flagrant violation of the international conventions”.

The society also asked the international human rights organizations and other international bodies to exert pressure on the Bahraini authorities to release Sa’ad.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.

So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – The military forces have attack Sheikh Ghasem house, located in Aldraz region near Manama on Friday morning.

The household of Sheikh Ghasem were reportedly gathered in one room, while the Bahraini forces get involved in damaging the house. The cleric was not at home when the forces attacked his house.

Al Wefaq National Islamic Society condemned such brutal activity and blamed Al Khalifa regime as the main cause of such aggression. It said the adventurism of Al Khalifa regime has reached to its highest point.

Al Wefaq also urged an immediately probe of numerous torture cases of Bahraini regime forces, saying that the country has become a haven for torturers.

The society also demand the immediate release of pro-democracy activists who have been arrested by the ruling Al Khalifa regime.

The incident comes as more activists got jail terms for ‘abusing freedom of expression’ within last week.

Human Rights Watch also cited multiple reports of torture that emerged during the Formula 1 grand prix held in Bahrain in April. They include accounts of activists and women subjected to electric shocks and forced into signing confessions.

The organization also harks back to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, issued in November 2011 that stated five activists had died in custody of torture since uprisings began against the ruling regime.

The demonstration was held in the village of Diraz, west of Manama, on Friday, hours after the Bahraini regime forces stormed the cleric’s house.

Witnesses said the regime forces broke the doors of Sheikh Qassim’s house in Diraz and damaged his property.

According to Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, the cleric was not at home at the time of the raid, but his family members were present. The troops left after searching the house while police helicopters were hovering above for hours.

“Dozens of armed troops, accompanied by masked civilian forces, stormed the home of Ayatollah Isa Qassim at dawn on Friday … damaging property and terrorizing women and children,” al-Wefaq said in its statement.

Sheikh Qassim has repeatedly criticized Manama over its violent crackdown on protests.

Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been the scene of anti-regime protests since February 2011. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more injured in the regime crackdown.

The protesters, however, say they will continue holding demonstrations against the Al Khalifa regime until their demands for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

The details of the charge leveled against the man on Thursday were not clear, but prosecutors said the move is regarded as an insult under the new codes of law.

National flags are carried and waved during anti-regime marches in Bahrain.

In April, Bahrain introduced tougher penalties for insulting the Persian Gulf kingdom’s ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and national symbols. The measures are apparently meant to suppress more than two years of pro-democracy protests.

On Wednesday, a court in Bahrain sentenced six tweeters to one year in jail on charges of insulting the country’s monarch.

The Bahraini public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the six had been charged and convicted by a lower criminal court for “misusing the right of free expression.”

The statement added that the tweeters were accused of posting remarks “undermining the values and traditions of Bahrain’s society towards the king on Twitter.”

The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

Bahrainis say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.

The village was placed under siege by police forces on Saturday following anti-regime protests in the region.

Tear gas and gunshots were heard in the village all through the night. Regime forces also set up military blockades across the region as helicopters hovered above, to prevent any movements in the area.

Large numbers of Saudi-backed forces have also been deployed to the village to assist in the crackdown. Bahrain’s main opposition party, the Al-Wefaq has condemned the siege and called for its end.

On Friday, thousands of Bahraini demonstrators took to the streets across Bahrain to protest against the torture of pro-democracy activists arrested by the Al Khalifa regime.

The protesters waved Bahrain’s national flag and held up signs that read “Manama, capital of torture” during a demonstration in the village of Daih.

An anti-government demonstration was staged in the village of Jidhafs, west of Manama, where the participants held up anti-regime placards and waved the national flag. Bahraini forces also used force to disperse anti-regime protestors in Jidhafs.

The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

Bahrainis say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Bahraini security forces vandalized the Prince Mohammad Barbaghi Mosque in Manama on Tuesday, sabotaging its contents and writing sectarian phrases on its walls.

The Al-Wefaq National Islamic Association said in a statement that “such attacks have been repeated against the mosque, which is located opposite to the highway of the A’ali village, “in spite of the constant security presence in the region.”

“Bahrain authorities have demolished more than 30 mosques along with vandalizing dozens of mosques and worship places,” the statement read.

In the meantime, four citizens were arrested for attacking security post in Jerry Sheikh area, south of Manama, Bahraini Ministry of Interior stated Monday evening.

The ministry claims came amid the ongoing peaceful protests in the Kingdom demanding freedom and democracy.

Barbaghi Mosque – which stood for more than 400 years in the town of A’ali – was first demolished in April 2011 by Al-Khalifa troops following the entrance of Saudi military forces in Mid-March 2011 to help the regime in its crackdown over the Bahraini revolution, but was reconstructed in April 2012.

The group was charged with attempted murder and setting a police car ablaze, in addition to rioting and possessing petrol bombs, their lawyers, who requested anonymity, said on Sunday.

The defendants, however, have denied the charges and said they had been tortured into making confessions, AFP reported.

Bahrain has handed long jail terms to anti-regime protesters as part of its crackdown on protests since the beginning of demonstrations in the Persian Gulf country.

A military court in 2011 sentenced prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and opposition leader Hassan Mushaima to life imprisonment for participating in demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty. A civilian court upheld the sentences in September 2012.

The Bahraini uprising began in February 2011. The Manama regime promptly launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests, calling in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Bahraini protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government is met.

The protesters shouted “Free the prisoners!” and held up photos of people being held during demonstrations in villages near the Bahraini capital Manama on Friday.

The demonstrations were organized by the February 14 Revolution Youth Commission.

The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

Bahrainis say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.