العربية
Amnesty International said on Wednesday (May 31, 2017), that Bahrain’s dissolution of a major political opposition society is the latest troubling move in its blatant campaign to end all criticism of the government.
The secular National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) was dissolved today after having issued a statement in February, saying that Bahrain was suffering from a “constitutional political crisis” amid continuous human rights violations. The group was subsequently charged with “advocating violence, supporting terrorism and incitement to encourage crimes and lawlessness”.
“By banning major political opposition groups, Bahrain is now heading towards total suppression of human rights,” said Lynn Maalouf, Director of research at Amnesty International’s Beirut Regional Office. “The suspension of Wa’ad is a flagrant attack on freedom of expression and association, and further proof that the authorities have no intention of delivering on promises of human rights progress.”
“The allegations made by the Ministry of Justice against Wa’ad and its leaders are baseless and absurd,” said Lynn Maalouf. “Their only so-called ‘crime’ is exercising their right to freedom of expression and association.”