Bahraini Cleric: Protesters Treated as “Enemies of State”

At the funeral of a demonstrator who reportedly suffocated in a cloud of tear gas, Sheik Isa Qassim, a senior cleric in Bahrain, stated that “the regime has designated the section of society asking for rights as enemies of state.” In spite of this, Enduring America reported renewed protests planned on September 23.

Additionally, according to New York Times contributor Anthony Shadid, clashes between Bahraini youths and police officers have raged nearly every night recently. Shadid reports that in the wake of the Bahraini government’s violent response to demonstrations, “sectarian tension has exploded, economic woes have deepened, [and] American willingness to look the other way has cast Washington as hypocritical.”

Click the picture above for a video interview with Shadid.