A Bahraini-German watchdog urged German officials to press Bahraini authorities in a bid to put end to the oppression against Shia in the Gulf island.

A Bahraini-German watchdog urged German officials to press Bahraini authorities in a bid to put end to the oppression against Shia in the Gulf island.

The Bahraini German organization for Human rights and Democracy has sent an urgent message to the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the German ambassador in Bahrain Alfred Simms-Protz, warning against escalation by the Bahraini authorities.

The message reported the latest measures taken by Manama regime against Shia opposition, saying that such measures threatens the civil peace in Bahrain.

The Bahraini authorities has lately dissolved Al-Wefaq organisation and seized all its assets on 17 June, 2016 after extending the sentence of its secretary general Ali Salman on May 30, 2016 from 4 to 9 years, the message said.

"As a clear sign of the targeting of the Shia, the Bahraini authorities are preventing clerics from holding prayers at mosques and apprehending some of them," the watchdog added.

Meanwhile, the message denounced as violation the revoking of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassem's citizenship.

"These violations represent a threat to civil peace in Bahrain," the message said, warning that setting Sheikh Qassem on Trial has consequences.

"The Bahraini German organization appeals to the German officials to intervene with the Bahraini authorities to stop targeting Shia Muslims in their political and religious associations and to permit the freedoms of thought, association, and religion."