MANAMA (FNA) – Bahraini forces have raided the headquarters of the kingdom’s biggest opposition society, the National Islamic Society, al-Wefaq in Bilad al-Qadeem, according to eyewitnesses.
Activists confirmed that security forces also raided the branch office of al-Wefaq Society in the Western Region, in the town of Malikiya. Photos circulated showed that the forces were confiscating the possessions and properties of the society, Bahrain Mirror reported.
Last September 22, the Bahraini Appeals Court supported a Civil Court ruling to close al-Wefaq's headquarters, and another ruling to dissolve and liquidate it. This came after the Appeal Court rejected an appeal filed by the society's lawyers, for not "having the capacity".
The step to close and dissolve al-Wefaq received international criticism by Bahrain's allies, among them Washington and London, in addition to other Western countries. The UN Secretary General and High Commissioner of Human Rights have also criticized the move.