Iraq’s Ammar Hakim Concerned over Situation in Bahrain

Leader of Iraq’s National Alliance Ammar al-Hakim expressed concerns over Bahraini forces’ use of excessive violence against protesters, calling on the ruling Al Khalifa regime to reconsider its stance on the Persian Gulf state’s people.

“We hoped that relevant organizations and bodies (in the Persian Gulf Arab country) would adopt a series of measures to help win the confidence of the Bahraini nation,” Ammar al-Hakim wrote on his Instagram page on Thursday.

But instead, he deplored, they exacerbated the situation there by sentencing Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite majority, to one year in prison and later storming into his house.

Hakim, who is also head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), expressed concerns over the “unjustified” moves by the Manama regime and called on Bahrain officials to reconsider their stance on the Shiite people in the kingdom and stop violence against protesters.

He also called on the Bahraini people to show restraint in the face of the regime’s ongoing crackdown.