Stability critical, but Bahrain’s crackdown threatens new instability

The Bahrain government appears unwavering in its determination to crush what is left of the country’s peaceful opposition movement. The arrest on 13 June of Bahrain Commission for Human Rights president Nabeel Rajab and, a day later, the closure of the main opposition party, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has been followed by a decision announced on 20 June to strip prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim of his citizenship. Since then, Rajab was hospitalised with an irregular heartbeat, supporters reported on 28 June, while Al-Wefaq’s lawyers complained of administrative blockages as they sought to prepare their case.