Bahraini authorities remove Ashura manifestations in Diraz

Bahraini security forces are intensifying their clampdown on the religious freedoms of the country’s Shiite majority.

Bahraini security forces are intensifying their clampdown on the religious freedoms of the country’s Shiite majority.

The northwestern village of Diraz also witnessed the forcible removal of Ashura manifestations. 

Security forces deployed reinforcements, preventing Shias from performing their rituals, before removing all flags and banners associated with Ashura. 

Since the start of Bahrain’s popular uprising in 2011, Manama has outlawed Ashura commemorations, which mark the martyrdom of the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad Imam Hussein and is widely observed by Shia Muslims.