Bahrain suspended the country’s largest Shia opposition group on Tuesday, continuing the gulf kingdom’s relentless crackdown on political dissent since the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.

The Associated Press reports that the Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry accused al-Wefaq National Islamic Society of creating “a new generation that carries the spirit of hatred,” and of having links with “sectarian and extremist political parties that adopt terrorism.” The state-run Bahrain News Agency said that a court in Manama suspended the party for three months and froze its funds in a surprise court hearing this week. The court has set an October 6^th hearing on whether to liquidate the party.

Various human rights organizations have condemned the suspension of al-Wefaq, calling on the international community to take action to end the Sunni regime’s crackdown.

“The Bahraini government seems determined to kill all avenues of peaceful dissent. This is a dangerous course, and is likely to fuel extremism and deepen political instability,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley.

“Bahrain has targeted leading human rights figures and opposition leaders in recent weeks; today’s move is a major statement of intent by the regime that any prospect of reform is over.”

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that Washington was “deeply troubled” by the news of al-Wefaq’s closure and “urged Bahraini officials to reconsider this decision.”

Bahrain’s crackdown on Shia political opposition is not a new phenomenon. Al-Wefaq, which won 18 of 40 seats in the 2010 parliamentary election, pulled out of parliament the next year during a crackdown against mostly Shia protesters demanding reforms. Protesters recall the Arab Spring uprisings, when Manama called upon Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to disperse protesters at the Pearl Roundabout using tear gas, rubber bullets, and bird shot, killing many. And since the uprisings, several individuals such as Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights activist, and Sheikh Ali Salman, al-Wefaq’s Secretary General, have served several multiple year prison sentences for dissent. In May, a Bahraini appeals court extended a prison sentence for Sheikh Salman, from four to nine years, for insulting the Interior Ministry.

The suspension of al-Wefaq is another blow to the oppressed Shia majority, which has struggled to achieve democratic reforms and greater representation in parliament. Two weeks ago, al-Wefaq announced its plans to protest the upcoming parliamentary elections in November because parliament does not have enough power and voting districts favor the ruling Sunni minority. But as the Shia party faces expulsion before polling takes place in November, al-Wefaq may never resurface in the Bahraini National Assembly.