Hawzah News Agency (Manama, Bahrain) - The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said the senior cleric, who has been under house arrest for over a year, was taken to hospital on Sunday after his health conditions deteriorated.

The center added that Sheikh Qassim has lost the ability to walk due to some unknown reason.

It added that the cleric's son and son-in-law have also been arrested by the security forces.

Sheikh Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain's dissolved opposition bloc the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, had his citizenship revoked in June 2016 over accusations that he had used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence. The cleric has denied the allegations.

Since then, Sheikh Qassim who is in his 70s has been confined to house arrest, resulting in the deterioration of his health condition.

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.