Bahrain Mirror: The National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad) expressed its deep regret and surprise at the security measures taken by the Ministry of the Interior towards it, describing it as a "a strange move that steers far away from the general political course."

The Society's comments came following the decision to ban the seminar, which was announced on Wednesday evening (October 18, 2017).

"We were surprised at Wa'ad with the security authorities' decision to ban holding a seminar on Wednesday, October 18, which was dedicated to discuss "the Balfour Declaration and the strategy of the Zionist enemy in the region," said Wa'ad.

The Society further stated that "the decision of the ban, which we were informed about on Tuesday following our summons to the Hura police station, turned out to affect all our future seminars that we intend to organize at our headquarters. We were informed of the requirement to obtain an official approval from the Ministry of Justice to allow our society to hold these seminars as part as political activities."

Wa'ad Society also highlighted that it was shocked by this step, "which blatantly contradicts the law of political associations," adding that "Wa'ad had previously organized dozens of seminars without objection from any official body, and therefore we have recorded our reservation regarding this procedure, while retaining the right to follow up with the Ministry of Justice."

"After following up with the Office of Political Associations in the Ministry of Justice and then the Office of the Minister of Justice, we were informed that they have no directives, procedures or objections to our current activities," noted Wa'ad, adding that after informing the security authorities about this, "they insisted on the same instructions to prevent our seminars unless they receive an official letter from the Ministry of Justice telling them otherwise."

Arabic Version