SHAFAQNA – Reports from the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain indicate that one person has died under torture amid growing crackdown on protesters.
Bahraini activists say the man, whose identity is not revealed, was arrested and later died following security forces’ raid in the village of Diraz on Thursday. Another man was shot and injured in the attack that targeted supporters of top Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassem. They’ve staged a sit-in outside the cleric’s house since June when the regime stripped him of his citizenship. Sheikh Qassem is accused of provoking violence. Religious leaders in the tiny island nation have issued a statement, blaming the Al Khalifah rulers and the U-K’s intelligence agency for the violence. They have also warned the regime not to take any action against Sheikh Qassem.