The United States expressed concern after a Bahraini court banned the country’s main opposition group, Al-Wefaq, for three months on Tuesday, just weeks before a parliamentary election the group had already said it would boycott.

Al-Wefaq draws most of its support from the Shiite majority in the Sunni-ruled nation.

The spokeswoman for the US Department of State, Jen Psaki, said the following in response to the decision: “We are worried that such an action will work against establishing a favourable climate in the country and its progress towards comprehensive and effective political action.”

The Bahraini authorities filed a lawsuit against Al-Wefaq and called for the termination of the group’s activities, which allegedly violated the law of associations.

Political parties are banned in Bahrain, as in other Gulf Arab monarchies. Al-Wefaq has the status of an association.

The Ministry of Justice for the Kingdom of Bahrain issued a press statement in which it declared: “The lawsuit filed against Al-Wefaq is a direct result of the organisation’s unwillingness to adhere to the law. The group continuously violates many legal regulations by holding illegal conferences.”

Al-Wefaq denied the Ministry of Justice’s claims and declared that the measures carried out by the government are “blatant political decisions carried out against the group.”

Comments

Please respect and abide by our Community Guidelines when leaving comments.