Bahrain: Clampdown on Qassim

A fresh clampdown on opposition activists by the government has prompted predictable regional reactions, with Gulf Co-operation Council governments voicing support for Manama and Shia leaders offering condemnation.On 21 May, the leading Bahraini Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim was given a one-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of financial corruption. Two days later police conducted what they described as a “targeted security operation” in the village of Duraz.