DUBAI: Amnesty International urged Bahraini authorities Thursday to end a "heightened crackdown" on its Shiite opposition, after some 60 clerics were summoned or arrested for participating in a protest.
The clerics were among scores of other demonstrators detained after taking part in a sit-in protesting the stripping of top Shiite cleric Isa Qassim's citizenship.
"The Bahraini authorities should halt immediately their heightened crackdown on peaceful critics and opponents," said the rights watchdog in a statement.
Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister in 2011.
Despite repeated calls from their Western allies, the kingdom's rulers have made no concessions to the Shiite opposition and have intensified a crackdown on critics.
The Gulf archipelago is home to the US Fifth Fleet.
Amnesty said four of the arrested clerics were sentenced to between one and two years in prison following the sit-in in the village of Diraz and nine others remain in detention and are facing trial.
It said most of the 60 have been charged with "illegal gathering" or "inciting hatred of the regime" as well as taking part in the Diraz protest.
Qassim, who is considered the spiritual leader of the majority Shiite community in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, went on trial in July on charges of illegal fundraising and money laundering, just weeks after authorities revoked his citizenship.
A statement by Shiite clerics denounced the prosecution of their comrades, including a two-year jail sentence on Wednesday against cleric Majid al-Mishaal, who heads the country's Shiite clerical council.
"We urge authorities to stop inflaming the country with the fire of sectarian persecution," the clerics' statement said.
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