[PRESSTV] Bahrain's most senior Shia holy man Sheikh Isa Qassim has been taken to a private hospital at death's door after weeks of suffering from deteriorating health.Sheikh Qassim's family and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights group confirmed his hospitalization on Monday and said he was in "critical condition."
He has been under house arrest for around 500 days amid daily protest gatherings in the northwestern village of Diraz which is besieged by regime forces.
Bahrain's leading political party al-Wefaq and rights bodies said the holy man, who is in his late 70s, was suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Deputy Secretary-General of al-Wefaq Sheikh Hussein al-Daihi said the spiritual leader was taken from his home to a private hospital amid tight security measures.
The holy man, known as the spiritual leader of the country's Shia Moslem majority, has been hailed as a source of inspiration for their peaceful demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa regime.