Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive):  The Financial Times said the Bahraini authorities suspended Al-Wefaq Society within a clampdown that comes amid what rights groups describe as an atmosphere of increasing persecution of protesters and dissidents.

"The authorities are probably calculating that there is little morale among the opposition for a new protest movement," said Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow at Chatham House. "The country is largely shielded from international pressure by its strong alliances with other Gulf monarchies, with the UK, and with the US military."

The newspaper indicated that "Faced with rising instability across the Middle East, western powers, including the US and UK, have deepened their military ties with Bahrain. The Gulf state has long hosted the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and is building a new British naval base."

"The Shia community has for years complained that it faces institutional discrimination," it further stated, adding that the Bahraini government dismisses the allegations, while insisting it is moving ahead with security and judicial reforms. "But facing entrenched sectarian tensions, the kingdom has become embroiled in the broader struggle for regional domination which pits Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies, including Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family, against Shia Iran."

The Financial Times stressed that persecution has lately increased in Bahrain; the authorities more than doubled the sentence of Sheikh Ali Salman, Al-Wefaq's leader and arrested Nabeel Rajab. Meanwhile, Zainab Al-Khawaja went into exile in Denmark for fear of arrest.

Arabic Version