Press TV- Regime forces in Bahrain have clashed with people protesting in solidarity with prisoners and martyrs in the run-up to the sixth anniversary of a popular uprising in the Arab country.
Bahraini policemen used tear gas and sound bombs to disperse demonstrators onSitraIsland on Friday.
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People protest in solidarity with prisoners and martyrs in Sitra, Bahrain, February 3, 2017.[/caption]Similar clashes were further reported in the Bahraini town of Bilad al-Qadim.
Mass anti-regime rallies also took place in the villages of Karbabad, Abu Saiba, Sanabis,Nuwaidrat, and Musalla.
Elsewhere, in the village Diraz, people held a sit-in outside the home of top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim.
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Protesters hold posters depicting Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim in Diraz, Bahrain, February 3, 2017.[/caption]Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrains dissolved opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, was stripped of his nationality last June over accusations that he usedhis position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence. The clergyman has denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, Bahrain forces raided houses in the village of Bani Jamrah and arrested three young people.
Separately on Friday, some 20 organizations and legal figures sent a letter to British Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnsonexpressing concerns about the punitive trials of prominent human rights campaignerNabeel Rajab.
They also called on Johnson to press the Manama regime to release the campaigner.
Rajab, who was arrested last June, is accused of spreading false news and rumors and inciting propaganda during wartime. He denies the allegations.
Hometo the USNavys FifthFleet, Bahrain has been rocked by a wave of anti-regime demonstrations since February 2011, when the popular uprising began. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded or detained amid Manamas crackdown on dissent and widespread discrimination against the countrys Shia majority.
