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| Arabia |
| Bahrain court dissolves main Shiite opposition party |
| 2016-07-18 |
| [Reuters] A court in Bahrain on Sunday dissolved the main Shiite opposition group al-Wefaq and liquidated the group's funds. Those funds would be claimed by the state treasury. Bahrain's opposition al Wasat newspaper reported that the court found that the group's political activities had "deviated" toward incitement to violence and the encouragement of mass demonstrations and sit-ins that could lead to sectarian strife. The administrative court ruling follows the closure by officials of Wefaq in June and revocation of the citizenship of a top Shiite cleric. The government has been shaken by calls for major reforms, and by a serious financial crisis that has forced it to cut subsidies and increase basic prices. The crackdown also follows a diplomatic dispute between Bahrain's main Sunni backer, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. The rift has widened since Iranian demonstrators, outraged at the execution of a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia in January, ransacked Saudi missions, prompting Riyadh and Bahrain to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. |
| Posted by:ryuge |