On Thursday evening, the protesters took to the streets throughout the country, including in the capital, Manama, the village of Sanabis in the capital�s countryside, and the island of Sitra in eastern Bahrain.
The demonstrators also continued a sit-in protest on al-Fada� Square in Qassim�s native village of Diraz, which has been under siege by regime forces for months.
Last year, Bahraini authorities dissolved the main opposition bloc al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, to which Qassim used to serve as a devoted mentor. They also took away Qassim�s citizenship, accusing him of serving foreign interests and promoting sectarianism and violence.
A vocal critic of the government, Sheikh Qassim has denied the allegations. He has been siding with opposition activists since anti-regime protests started sweeping the country in 2011.
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A trial session had been scheduled for earlier in the month, but was postponed to February 26 amid fears of a surge in popular outrage.
Also on Thursday, the protesters honored the memory of young pro-democracy campaigner Abdullah al-Ajouz, an activist who was recently killed by Manama�s forces.
Ajouz was arrested in a raid on the village of Nuwaidrat, located about 10 kilometers south of Manama, on Monday. An informed source said the victim had sustained a number of gunshots before regime forces took him away.
