By Anissa Haddadi: Subscribe to Anissa's RSS feed
January 26, 2012 3:50 AM EST
Iran and Hezbollah have been increasingly accused of joining forces with the opposition group al-Wefaq to topple the government of Bahrain, further clouding an already complicated situation in the country.
The kingdom has not been immune to the activities of the Arab Spring. Since it began in February 2011, members of the Shia majority have taken to the streets to call for greater political freedom.
Tensions rose following confrontations with the security forces and protesters began to demand an end to the ruling monarchy of King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa.
The regime was accused of mounting a brutal crackdown on protesters. In an effort to address charges of human rights abuses in its response to the unrest, the government formed and funded an Independent Commission of Inquiry, which confirmed that detainees had been tortured and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological abuse.
The commission was, however, criticised for failing to name individuals in its report and activists complained that no one was ever prosecuted for violating their human rights.
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While the government claims that all abuse has stopped, activists like Nabeel Rajab, the director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has since documented fresh cases of abuse and the continued use of torture in the ongoing repression of Shia protesters.
The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society has led the protests and, according to videos recently uploaded on to the internet, the political party is now calling for a jihad against the government.
Al-Wefaq, an Iran-Hezbollah Tool?
Since the Shia uprising began early last year, the state-run Bahrain News Agency broadcast several reports linking al-Wefaq to Iran and Hezbollah.
In a report sent to the UN, the kingdom's government also accused Hezbollah of training newly recruited activists at camps in Lebanon and Iran.
There have also been allegations that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior officials from the organisation met with members of al-Wefaq to fuel protests against the government, along with claims that Shia groups used Hezbollah's television channel, al Manar, to mobilise protesters.
Supporters of the regime have further accused Hezbollah and Iran of using the opposition to challenge the rule of the Khalifa family, describing al-Wefaq as the Bahraini branch of Hezbollah.
Members of al-Wefaq have studied in Iran and Iraq. Ali Salman, the organisation's leader, was educated at the theological centre of Qom.
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