Bahraini security forces have arrested the family members of opposition activists who have spoken out against the government’s growing violence against the country’s Shia community.

Bahraini security forces have arrested the family members of opposition activists who have spoken out against the government’s growing violence against the country’s Shia community.

According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahraini security forces raided the house of Hasan Mushaima — one of the leaders of Shia Haq political party — last week and arrested his son Mohammed Mushaimea without any specific charge.

The arrest came a few hours after his father, who is currently in the UK for medical treatment, appeared on a TV channel and criticized the deteriorating situation of human rights in Bahrain.

Mushaimea’s family said security forces entered their house and searched everywhere without holding a search warrant. Security forces also confiscated their computer.

In another incident, Bahraini security forces arrested football player Mahdi Sa’ad and banned him from traveling abroad after her sister appeared on the BBC Arabic and slammed Manama’s aggressive approach toward detained opposition activists.

Sa’ad’s sister had also criticized Bahraini authorities for failing to inform her family about the condition of her blind brother, Ali Sa’ad, who was arrested in September. She said it is not clear where he is being held and that her family has not been given permission to visit him.

The BCHR argues that arresting and harassing the relatives and family members of those who criticize the government on TV channels or news agencies abroad demonstrate the authorities’ intolerance toward criticism. It is also an attempt by Manama to hide the reality of what is happening in Bahrain from the world’s public opinion.