Iraqi authorities handed over a Bahraini dissident, sentenced to life in prison, to Kuwaiti authorities as he was trying to return to Iraqi territory to renew his residency, Iraqi officials and Bahraini dissidents told The New Region on Saturday.

Hashem Sharaf, 36, is a Bahraini opposition figure who has been convicted by Bahrain authorities on three counts related to his participation in anti-government protests inside his country in 2011. 

The harshest sentence against Sharaf was life imprisonment, Bahraini dissidents told The New Region.

Sharaf left Iraq on Wednesday via the southern Iraqi Safwan border crossing for Kuwait in order to break his almost expired Iraqi visa in preparation for renewing it.

However, Iraqi authorities at Safwan border crossing arrested him and handed him over to Kuwaiti authorities.

The arrest of Sharaf and his handover to the Kuwaiti authorities puts the Iraqi Government in what is perceived embarrasing before the religious authorities in Najaf and the leaders of the Shiite political and armed factions that have close relations with the regional Shiite opposition, and raises questions about the future of the relationship between the current Iraqi government and the opposition who sought refuge in Iraq to escape the brutality of the authorities in their countries.

Shiites constitute about half of the population of Bahrain and the majority of opponents of the Sunni-dominated Bahraini political system are Shiites.

Dozens of Bahraini opposition figures, especially Shiites, have sought refuge in Iraq for years after being persecuted and harassed inside Bahrain following the 2011 protests.

Statistics from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior indicate that no less than 200,000 Bahraini pilgrims come to Iraq annually to participate in the Arbaeen commemoration of Imam Hussein.

Sharaf has been involved deeply in organizing and facilitating the visit of those pilgrims for the last five years, sources told the New Region.

Bahraini dissidents described Sharaf’s arrest and handover to Kuwaiti authorities as an “arbitrary measure” that is inconsistent with the principles of hospitality and shelter that have long dominated the relationship between the Iraqi authorities and the Bahraini opposition.

“We were surprised by this action (Sharaf’s arrest), which we have not seen from the Iraqi authorities, who have always been welcoming to Bahraini dissidents and understanding of their suffering,” Sheikh Maitham al-Jamri, a prominent Bahraini dissident living in Iraq, told The New Region.

"Hashem has not engaged in any political activity since entering Iraq more than five years ago and has not violated any of the applicable Iraqi laws,” he said. "We demand that the Iraqi government provide an official explanation for the reasons for Sharaf's arrest and hand him over to the Kuwaiti authorities."

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered the officers who arrested Sharaf to be held accountable and has assigned the task of following up on the case to Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari and trying to return Sharaf to Iraqi territory, Iraqi security officials told The New Region.

Shammari met with the Kuwaiti ambassador on Saturday “in an attempt to find a settlement that would guarantee Sharaf’s return from the Kuwaiti authorities before he is handed over to Bahrain,” a security source told The New Region.

“Handing Sharaf over to the Kuwaiti authorities has caused us a big problem with the prime minister and has caused a lot of controversy,” the officer said.“The problem is that we cannot get him back from the Kuwaiti authorities because they are not responding to us, and we cannot guarantee that he will not be handed over to the Bahraini authorities.”