Violence and protests escalated in Bahrain on Wednesday (December 21, 2016) after clashes broke out between the regime forces and protestors outside the Shiite majority religious leader Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim’s house.

Bahraini regime forces clashed on Wednesday (December 21, 2016) with protestors in Sitra Island southeast of the capital, Manama.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday (December 21, 2016) that it arrested a number of wanted in some villages and searched their houses.

Police in Bahrain on Wednesday clashed with protesters supporting a top Shiite cleric who has been stripped of his citizenship and is on trial in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, activists said.

Police in Bahrain briefly clashed with residents of a besieged town that is home to a Shiite cleric on Wednesday, arresting at least two youths before withdrawing from the area, witnesses and activists said.

Heavily armed forces raided Diraz village where thousands of Bahrainis have been protesting since 6 months outside the house of the spiritual leader of Shia majority Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Bahraini security forces clashed with supporters of the country's Shi'ite Muslim spiritual leader near his home on Wednesday, activists said.

Social media activists published photos showing thousands of citizens outside the house of the spiritual leader of Shia majority Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Heavily armed forces raided Diraz village where thousands of Bahrainis have been protesting since 6 months outside the house of the spiritual leader of Shia majority Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

The Al-Wasat local newspaper said that the residents of Diraz village resorted to nearby villages after the authorities had prevented the drinking water trucks from entering the village to supply it with water.

The Al-Wasat newspaper said that the security authorities prevented the drinking water companies and that of food from entering Diraz to supply the shops, describing what’s going on as “the worst of its kind besiege”.

Participants in a roundtable session in the German capital Berlin said that Bahrain has arrested 1153 people since the beginning of the year, including 186 children and 21 women, which reflects the extent of human rights deterioration in the country.

The third high criminal (appeals) court decided to add the two cases in which Sheikh Fadel Al-Zaki and Mohamad Jawad Al-Shehabi are sentenced to two years in prison (one year for each case) based on Diraz assembly, to issue the verdict against them on January 17, 2017.

Bahraini village of Diraz witnessed intensified security measures since early hours of Sunday morning (December 4, 2016).

Bahraini court adjourned case raised against Bahraini Shia spiritual leader Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim until January 5, 2017.

A mass protest took off from Imam Sadiq mosque in Diraz on Friday (December 2, 2016) after noon prayers and marched the village’s streets. The protest condemned the sectarian persecution practiced against Shia in Bahrain.

Social media activists published on Friday (December 2, 2016) photos showing tightening of the security siege that has been imposed on Diraz since months.

Bahraini authorities have put a prominent human rights lawyer on trial for charges that include insulting state institutions, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday, in a further crackdown on dissent.

Bahrain’s appeals court commuted on Tuesday (November 29, 2016) the 2-year jail term against the prominent Shiite cleric Sayed Majeed Al-Mashaal to 6 months only over the charge of taking part in Diraz protest.

Bahrain’s minor court handed down on Thursday (November 24, 2016) 3-month jail term to Imam of Al-Kheif mosque Sheikh Isa Al-Moamen over inciting hatred against the regime and set 500 BD as bail to stop the execution of the sentence.