Bahraini authorities have ordered the seven-day detention of an opposition leader who has criticized the al-Khalifa government’s participation in the US-led coalition against Yemen in the Red Sea.
Bahrain’s public prosecutor’s office has ordered an investigation into Ebrahim Sharif suspended for “spreading false news during wartime,” his family and lawyer announced Thursday.
In a series of posts, Sharif, who heads the Wa’ad organization, criticized Manama authorities for joining the coalition “without taking into account the position of the Bahraini people, who strongly support the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza.”
He was arrested on Wednesday. When asked about his case, the Bahrain government said “an individual” was being detained “on suspicion of supporting a proscribed terrorist organization.”
The charges against Mr Sharif, a pro-democracy activist, could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Bahrain is the only country in the Persian Gulf region to join a U.S.-led coalition formed this week to counter Yemeni attacks on ships heading to occupied Palestinian territory in the Red Sea.
Saeed Ahmed Alwaday, director of advocacy at the UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said the Bahrain government was “not alone in criticizing Bahrain’s decision to join the US side. ” he said.
“The US government’s failure to publicly condemn his arrest and demand his immediate release gives the Bahraini government permission to continue to detain him,” Al-Wadai said.
The Pentagon has announced the formation of a military coalition of 10 countries, including Britain and Spain, to stand in solidarity with Gaza residents and counter Yemeni forces targeting ships bound for Israel.
A series of attacks blamed on Yemeni forces were carried out in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Yemen has already threatened to block all Red Sea shipping heading to the occupied territories.
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement said in a live televised address Wednesday that if the United States and its allies carry out a military attack on Yemen, the military will not hesitate to target U.S. warships in the Red Sea.
Bahrain’s main opposition group, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Association, recently condemned human rights violations in the country.
Al-Wefaq denounced Manama’s normalization of relations with Israel as a “crime”.
Opposition parties stressed that normalization is grossly inconsistent with Bahrain’s history and Islamic identity.
Bahrain and the Israeli regime established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
Last month, the deputy speaker of Bahrain’s parliament said members of the legislature were pressuring Gaza to reverse normalization in the wake of the regime’s devastating war.
Abdulnabi Salman said Bahraini lawmakers are calling for an end to diplomatic relations with Israel.
Numerous protests have taken place in the Persian Gulf country since the approach.
The US and UK have refrained from criticizing human rights abuses across Bahrain.
In July, British MPs accused the government of “auctioning” Bahrain’s principles after it signed a £1 billion investment deal with Persia, which resulted in Bahrain being removed from a list of countries that prioritize human rights. They pressed the government to clearly explain the reasons. Bay state.