Iran Condemns Raid on Prominent Bahraini Cleric’s House

(FNA)- Iran on Tuesday strongly condemned an attack by the Bahraini regime on the house of the leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Ahmed Qassem.

"The Bahraini officials are expected to respect the exalted position of religious authorities and clerics in that country and prosecute and punish the perpetrators of this unacceptable act," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Tuesday.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman reiterated that the sacrilege of religious sanctities and insulting popular religious leaders and Ulemmas (religious scholars) is part of the failed security and sectarian approaches practiced by the Bahraini government in dealing with people's peaceful protests in that country. 

Bahraini security forces raided Sheikh Qassem's house amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent on Monday.

Witnesses say regime forces even took photos of the ID cards of everyone who was inside the house in Diraz, West of the capital Manama.

The raid on the home of the spiritual leader of the opposition al-Wefaq group came just a few days after people voted in an alternative election held by the main opposition parties of Bahrain.

The opposition had boycotted the parliamentary elections which were held with a low turnout on the same day across the tiny kingdom.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al-Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the regime crackdown.

Bahrain has been severely criticized by human rights groups for its harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters which has claimed the lives of scores of people so far.

In June, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights censured the Manama regime for human rights violations in the country.