Bahrain expels three MPs for criticizing monarchy's security policies
Bahrain’s parliament has stripped three lawmakers of their seats in the latest crackdown by the minority regime against dissent, after the trio publicly criticized the monarchy’s controversial citizenship revocations and security policies.
In a vote in Manama on Thursday, the Bahraini House of Representatives revoked the memberships of Abdulnabi Salman, Mahdi al-Shuwaikh, and Mamdouh al-Saleh after the trio publicly lambasted the Bahraini regime for striping citizenship from dozens of Bahrain nationals accused of sympathizing with Iran.
On April 27, the Bahraini interior ministry said the Persian Gulf kingdom had revoked the citizenship of 69 individuals and their families for “expressing support for Iran's (retaliatory) attacks” against US and Israeli military assets across West Asia amid their war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
The ministry noted at the time that the individuals had published posts on social media platforms “glorifying and sympathizing with” regional resistance movements.
During the unprovoked war of aggression by the US and Israel against Iran, that began on February 28 and lasted for the next 40 days, Iran’s Armed Forces repeatedly pounded American assets and military sites in the Persian Gulf island country with drones and missiles.
The Bahraini parliament on Thursday claimed that the expulsion of three lawmakers were constitutional and legal actions against their stances allegedly conflicting with what it claimed to be national principles and state sovereignty.
The motion to expel the lawmakers reportedly secured unanimous approval from members present after being endorsed by 37 MPs.
Critics, however, see the move as another sign of shrinking political space in Bahrain, where even elected representatives risk punishment for challenging royal decrees by the Al Khalifah regime or questioning state policies.
The expulsions also underscore the Al Khalifah regime’s increasingly intolerant approach toward opposition voices and heighten concerns over the suppression of political dissent in the Arab kingdom after years of crackdown on peaceful protests.
In March, a Bahraini opposition group said the Al Khalifah regime had tortured a young man to death while ;trying to draw a confession from him against Iran.
The Al Khalifah regime, which has long been persecuting Shia Muslims and pro-democracy activists in Bahrain, has stepped up its repressive measures since the onset of the illegal US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Bahraini security and legal apparatus has clamped down on young protesters under the false pretexts of spying for Iran, and has named some of them as alleged members of anti-government groups linked to Tehran.
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