Hawzah News Agency (Manama, Bahrain​) - Sheikh Abdullah Daqaq said the ruling against him came because he has defended the demands of Bahrain's people and supported Sheikh Qassem.

By such verdicts, the regime seeks to pressure opposition figures to renounce their stances, he added.

It wants to silence any voice that support the Bahraini nation, Sheikh Daqaq went on to say.

A Bahraini appeals court recently upheld ruling that strip a number of Shia clerics, including Sheikh Qassim and Sheikh Daqaq, of Bahraini citizenship.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.