MANAMA- Bahrain’s largest opposition party on Wednesday, Sept. 18, suspended its participation in talks with the government aimed at ending 2-1/2 years of political turmoil in protest at the arrest of its deputy leader.

Al Wefaq was responding to an announcement by the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom that Khalil al-Marzouq would be held for 30 days while being investigated for inciting terrorism in a series of speeches.

In a statement, Al Wefaq, an Islamist group that says it advocates non-violent methods, said it would temporarily boycott a national dialogue aimed at resolving a crisis that began with mass pro-democracy protests in February 2011

The group would keep its position under constant review “in light of political and human rights developments on the ground.”

The talks began in February but have become bogged down in procedural issues in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust, with little apparent narrowing of differences on the opposition’s main demand for an elected government.

Persistent unrest since February 2011, when an uprising led by the Shi’a Muslim majority demanded the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty give up power, has placed Bahrain on the front line of a struggle for regional influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia.