The Bahraini Public Prosecution Raised a list of charges against Bahrain’s Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Issa Qassem, related to his religious duty concerning the Khums (alms) obligatory ritual practiced by the Shia

The Bahraini Public Prosecution Raised a list of charges against Bahrain's Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Issa Qassem, related to his religious duty concerning the Khums (alms) obligatory ritual practiced by the Shia, who represent the majority of the Bahraini population, Bahrain Mirror reported.

The charges raised against Ayatollah Qassem and two others include raising sums of money whose source they concealed while aware that they were illegally collected without a license.

The prosecution claims that the defendants made deposits and withdrawals, purchases, allocations and distributions, to show that the sums of money were collected lawfully contrary to reality.

Bahrainis religious scholars issued a statement in which they condemned the regime's action against the leader of the Shiites in the country, noting that the charges violate one of their basic creeds.

The statement also considered that targeting Sheikh Qassem harms all the Shiites in Bahrain.