Bahrain Mirror: Bahraini security authorities continued to set up more concrete barriers on Friday (September 1, 2017) in the town of Diraz, which has suffered a strict siege for more than 14 months.

Activists posted pictures of cement barriers covering various entrances to the town, which the authorities are trying to close off from all directions.

Since June 2016, security authorities have imposed a siege on Diraz, where more than 20,000 people reside, and prevented all non-residents from entering the town.
Protesters had staged on June 20, 2016, an open sit-in outside the home of the Shiite majority spiritual leader, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, in protest of the revocation of his nationality.

On May 23, 2017, the authorities cleared the protest site by force. This led to the deaths of five martyrs, dozens of injuries and about 300 arrests. Ayatollah Qassim was then placed under house arrest.

Since the end of the sit-in, the authorities have not lifted the security siege imposed on Diraz.

Arabic Version