Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini Minor Criminal Court adjourned on Thursday (September 8, 2016) the trial of Deputy President of the Islamic Ulama Council (highest Shiite religious authority in Bahrain), prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Mahmoud Al-A'ali.

The court decided to adjourn the case until September 20, 2016.

Sheikh Al-A'ali faces charges of "illegal gathering" in Diraz and "inciting [hatred] against the regime," which are linked to the ongoing sit-in held outside the house of the Shia spiritual leader in the country, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, who was stripped of his Bahraini citizenship last June.

The authorities have launched a widespread campaign against the opposition, represented by the Shiite-majority in the country, taking a series of harsh measures such as, toughening the opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman's prison sentence, revoking Sheikh Qassim's nationality, dissolving the main political opposition group Al-Wefaq Society, as well two other Shiite religious societies Al-Tawiya and Al-Risala. These moves are considered to be the harshest measures taken against the opposition since the Bahraini authorities, backed by both Saudi and Emirati forces, crushed protests in March 2011.

Arabic Version