#BahrainSchism: Anti-government protests break out after arrest of Shia opposition leader — RT News.
Protests in Bahrain against the detention of the head of the banned Shia movement, Al-Wefaq, on Sunday, have been marked by clashes with security forces. Sheikh Ali Salman boycotted parliamentary elections, influenced by the ruling Sunni royal family.
Opposition groups protested Monday against the arrest of cleric Salman, 49, who remains in custody for further questioning, AFP reported. They were supported by dozens of Shia clerics, who gathered in Imam al-Sadeq mosque in Al-Guful village near Manama, saying that the arrest was a “huge insult to all the people.”
“The Bahraini Authority is moving backward to a police state instead of taking steps toward a political solution and an end to the serious human rights violations against citizens,” opposition groups led by Al-Wefaq said in a statement.
On Sunday morning, as the banned Shia opposition party announced the arrest of its leader, clashes broke out between the security forces and hundreds of Al-Wefaq supporters. People gathered in villages near the capital city of Manama.
