Bahrain Court Disbands Shiite Opposition Group

A Bahraini court on Monday ordered the disbanding of a Shiite opposition group, the Islamic Action Association, judicial officials told Agence France Presse.

The group was found guilty of "several violations" including following a "religious ideology that calls for violence" and "not holding the association's convention for more than four years," according to the sources.

Prosecutors also accused the group of having committed "violations related to its financial situation by not providing the ministry with reports on its annual budget."

Bahrain's justice ministry in June filed a lawsuit to dissolve the association which joined Shiite-led protests last year.

The group's head Mohammed Ali Mahfouz and several of its leading members were sentenced to long prison sentences along other opposition figures for "plotting to overthrow the regime" and "inciting violence."

The Shiite opposition, including the main Al-Wefaq formation, slammed Monday's court decision as a "violation of the constitution and law."