UN rights chief urges Bahrain to investigate Diraz violence

A UN human rights chief has called on Bahrain to probe a raid by regime forces on the house of Sheikh Isa Qassim which left five people dead last month.

“I urge the government to investigate the events of 23 May, in particular the loss of lives, to ensure that the findings are made public and that those responsible are held accountable,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said Friday.

Dozens of people were also injured when regime forces attacked Sheikh Qassim’s supporters in the northwestern village of Diraz. The clergyman’s fate remains unknown, with some reports saying he is under house arrest.

The scuffles came two days after Sheikh Qassim was handed a suspended one-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine over accusations that he had used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence.

Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s main Shia opposition group al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, was stripped of his nationality last June despite denying the allegations.

In a statement, Hussein urged Bahrain “to choose a different path – one of engagement and dialog, as well as accountability for violence, regardless of the perpetrator.”

On Wednesday, Wefaq Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Hussein al-Daihi, called on the UN to conduct an investigation into rights violations in Bahrain.