Bahrain Mirror: Residents of the Bahraini town of al-Dair announced that they will not carry on Friday prayers, for a second consecutive week, after the "Al-Khaif" Mosque Imam, Sheikh Isa Al-Mo'men was arrested and prosecuted for "inciting hatred against the regime."

These accusations were based on the Friday sermon he delivered on August 5, 2016.

In a statement issued on Thursday (August 18, 2016), the residents of al-Dair said that the authorities are continuing "the trial of the religious scholar Sheikh Isa Al-Mo'men, and announced a new date for his trial which is August 21, 2016, while he remains in custody. This charge is linked to his Friday sermon made on August 5, 2016, at "Al-Khaif" Mosque in the town of al-Dair, which we consider to be unjust for this figure is faithful to Allah and his country."

"Therefore, we call for halting the Friday prayer sermons for the second consecutive week, since there is no provided safety or security that would allow us to carry on our congregational prayers and truthful speeches," the statement added.

"We would like to reaffirm that what Sheikh Al-Mo'men said in his Friday sermon on August 5, 2016, falls under the right of freedom of expression as guaranteed by international conventions, national constitution and charter. His arrest comes in line with the obvious targeting of the freedom of belief, and we thus announce to the international community that we are targeted in our Islamic religion, sect, and prayers," the residents further stated.

Arabic Version