Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini authorities continued their crackdown on Friday (November 18, 2016), preventing the Shia-majority in the country from holding their largest Friday prayers at the Imam Sadiq Mosque in Diraz.

Military vehicles linked to the Interior Ministry were deployed at the entrances of Diraz and security forces intensified the siege imposed on the village since last June.

Witnesses say that the authorities prevented worshipers and the mosque's Imam from entering Diraz.

Worshipers were forced to perform their prayers individually. Following the prayers, a mass demonstration was launched from the mosque. Protestors denounced the sectarian persecution of the followers of the Shiite sect in Bahrain.

A security blockade has been imposed on the Diraz area since last June after an open rally was held outside the house of the Bahraini Shia spiritual leader Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim to protest the revocation of his citizenship.

Arabic Version