MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A prosecutor in Bahrain said Wednesday a leader of the opposition al-Wefaq coalition is affiliated with a terrorist organization.
Human rights groups expressed concern last year when authorities in Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 31 people considered a threat to national security. At least one of the people stripped of citizenship belonged to the opposition al-Wefaq movement, which the government blamed for some of the unrest in the country.
More than a dozen protesters died during an uprising against the Sunni-led monarchy in Bahrain in 2011.
Chief prosecutor Nayef Yousif said Wednesday he notified authorities that investigators determined the assistant secretary-general of al-Wefaq was affiliated with an unnamed terrorist organization, the official Bahrain News Agency reports.
BNA didn't name the opposition leader, though CNN identified him as Khalil al-Marzooq. The news organization said members of al-Wefaq consider the arrest to be politically motivated.
BNA accused Marzooq of raising the flag of a "terrorist organization" after issuing a speech allegedly in support of violence last week.
The government in Bahrain agreed to a series of reforms outlined by an independent commission of inquiry probing its response to protests in 2011. The government was criticized, however, for placing restrictions on public demonstrations.
