Bahrain suspended all activities by the main Shia opposition group yesterday as part of a crackdown in the kingdom that has raised concerns in Washington.
A court suspended the Al-Wefaq group pending a verdict on dissolving it altogether, the justice ministry said, accusing the bloc of breaking the law.
The decision came a day after security forces rearrested human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, drawing a complaint from the United States.
The court also ordered Al-Wefaq offices closed and its funds frozen, said a justice ministry statement published by the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Al-Wefaq draws most of its support from the Shia community in the kingdom across the Gulf from Iran.
The bloc’s chief, Shia cleric Ali Salman, is currently serving a nine-year jail term for inciting violence after a court last month more than doubled his original sentence.
Salman’s arrest in December 2014 sparked protests in the country.
Yesterday’s ruling followed a justice ministry request for Al-Wefaq to be dissolved for alleged illegal activity.
The bloc was accused of offering a haven for “terrorism, radicalisation, and violence” and opening the way for “foreign interference” in the kingdom’s affairs, the ministry said.
This was a reference to Iran, which Bahrain accuses of fomenting unrest on its soil by backing the Shia opposition.
Al-Wefaq will be unable to operate until a verdict is issued on dissolving it, BNA reported.
A judicial source said that a court will convene on October 6 to investigate the case.
The justice ministry said its move against Al-Wefaq was part of a drive to “combat extremism...and protect society”.
In October 2014, the administrative court banned Al-Wefaq for three months for violating the law on associations.
Political parties are banned in Bahrain, as in other Gulf Arab sates, so Al-Wefaq has the status of an association.
The Washington-based group Human Rights First in a statement yesterday called Al-Wefaq’s suspension “part of an alarming new crackdown by the government, designed to eliminate all remaining opposition in the country”.
After activist Rajab was taken back into custody, his lawyer said on Twitter yesterday his case has been referred to the public prosecution service.
Rajab is being held for one week pending investigation on charges of “spreading false information”, Mohamed al-Jishi said.
The 51-year-old was detained in 2014 for tweets deemed insulting to the authorities before his release on health grounds.
Rajab heads the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and has led anti-government marches.
He previously served two years in jail for taking part in unauthorised protests.
Washington, which had called for Rajab’s release during previous detentions, complained directly to the government again on Monday.
“We’re deeply concerned,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.”We do not at this point know what charges have been levelled against him.”
“We don’t believe anyone should be put in prison or prosecuted for engaging in peaceful expression or assembly.”
Rajab’s rearrest comes a week after another opposition activist, Zeinab al-Khawaja, fled the country following her release from jail on “humanitarian grounds”.