Sheikh Issa Qasim, a senior Bahraini cleric warned that the country is approaching an abyss as anti-regime protests resumed in the towns and villages around the capital.

Sheikh Issa Qasim, a senior Bahraini cleric warned that the country is approaching an abyss as anti-regime protests resumed in the towns and villages around the capital.

“This country is being brought closer to an abyss of terrifying destruction unless quick reforms are offered to satisfy the people”, he said.
He stressed that there was no chance of dialogue with the regime as long as trials of civilians have been held in military courts and as long as the crackdown on peaceful protesters was continuing.

Opposition groups said that hundreds of peaceful demonstrators have been put on trial on charges ranging from holding illegal gatherings and fabricating news to plotting a coup.They said over 1,000 people remain in detention, but the government said the numbers are much lower.

Several media outlets and humanitarian organizations also reported that Bahraini regime has tortured dozens of health workers into signing false confessions as they were put on trial over giving medical treatment to injured anti-government protesters in the country.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has called for talks with the opposition beginning on July 1 and has said that discussions can be held on all types of democratic reforms in the country, government officials have said.

However, Shiekh Qasim told a crowd of hundreds during his Friday sermon that the current situation did not match the government rhetoric.