DUBAI: Bahraini authorities have revoked the citizenships of 31 activists, among them two former members of Parliament, for having “undermined state security,” state news agency BNA reported yesterday.
The names of the 31 activists, including brothers Jawad and Jalal Fairuz, both ex-MPs who represented the major Shiite Al-Wefaq bloc, were listed in the report, which quoted an interior ministry statement.
Also named was Ali Mashaima, son of prominent activist Hassan Mashaima who is head of the radical Shiite opposition movement Haq and who is serving a life sentence for allegedly plotting against the monarchy. The government move comes after Bahrain late last month banned all protests and gatherings to ensure “security is maintained,” after clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
The Gulf state, Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Shiite Iran, has experienced unrest since Feb. 14 last year. Hundreds of people were arrested when the security forces crushed the uprising within a month.
Many activists, some whose names appear on yesterday’s list, were tried in a special military court set up at the time.
Tension has been running high in the kingdom following a spate of bombings on Monday in the capital Manama which killed two Asian expatriates. Four people have been arrested in connection with the bombings.
King Hamad ordered Tuesday “the swift arrest of the terrorists who carried out the recent terrorist acts in Bahrain” and urged citizens to help “bring them to justice so they receive their punishment over this appalling act.”
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the bombings. “These violent acts cannot be justified by any cause. We call on all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from any provocations,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
Bahrain revokes citizenships of 31 activists
