This trial launched amid widespread protests against the Manama regime Behavior which revoked the cleric’s citizenship.

The Bahraini regime has pressed charges of “illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terrorism” against Sheikh Qassim. He rejected the accusations.

The trial is commonly viewed as part of Bahrain’s crackdown on political dissent.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the Al Khalifah regime to relinquish power.

In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini regime in cracking down on the protests, PRESS TV reports.

After Manama regime revoked the cleric’s citizenship and on the eve of Sheikh Qassim’s trial, hundreds of people rallied in Bahrain to express solidarity with him

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