A Bahraini court on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of the main secular Waad opposition group and the seizure of its assets, Waad said on its Twitter account. The Arabic-language al-Wasat daily newspaper said that the high administrative court decided to “dissolve the National Democratic Action Society (Waad), confiscate its assets for the benefit of the state treasury”. The Western-allied kingdom, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, has been a political flashpoint since “Arab Spring” protests in 2011 were put down by the Sunni-led government with the help of Gulf Arab states. The crackdown entered a new phase last year when authorities banned the main Shi’ite Muslim opposition group, al-Wefaq, and revoked the citizenship of Ayatollah Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shias. Supporters had camped out there in a protest since authorities revoked his citizenship last year accusing him of fomenting sectarian divisions.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 31, 2017 20:26 UTC