Hundreds of Iraqis protest outside Bahraini embassy in response to Sadr’s call
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Hundreds of Iraqi citizens staged a protest on Wednesday outside the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad against the repeated attack on Bahraini people and its religious figures, AlSumaria News reported.
The demonstration, which came in response to the Iraqi influential Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s call, took place outside the embassy located in al-Mansour region, west of Baghdad.
The protesters, according to the report, urged the Bahraini government to stop the oppression against its people and release Shia cleric Ayatollah Eissa Qassem. Raised banners read “Bahrain remains steadfast”
Meanwhile, security troops blocked one side of the street leading to Bahraini embassy.
“Troops blocked one side of al-Rowad street in al-Mansour, which leads to the embassy,” a police source told AlSumaria.
On Tuesday, Sadr called for staging protests outside the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Najaf to condemn the arrest of aides of Qassem, an influential opposition figure, in the Gulf kingdom.
Earlier on the day, news reports mentioned that Bahraini security forces invaded Qassem’s home located west of Manama and arrested everyone inside. The raid came shortly after Qassem’s fans staged protests in support at his home village of al-Diraz, and two days after a top criminal court sentenced him to one-year in prison and freezed his assets.
It was not clear whether Qassem, who was stripped of his citizenship in 2016, was among those arrested.