Bahrain’s Al-Wefaq Condemns Court Ruling against Sheikh Salman
A Bahraini court earlier on the day handed down a four-year jail sentence to the prominent cleric.
Al-Wefaq denounced the verdict, stressing that it is invalid and has no value whatsoever, Mir’at al-Bahrain website reported.
The court acquitted Sheikh Salman of the charge of trying to overthrow the incumbent regime but gave him a four-year jail term for other charges like insulting the government and provoking people against the Al Khalifa regime.
Salman was detained on December 28, 2014 on charges of ‘attempting to overthrow the incumbent regime and collaboration with foreign powers.’ He has strongly denied the charges, emphasizing that he has been seeking reforms in the kingdom through peaceful means.
On June 5, the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) renewed calls on the Manama regime to immediately release the al-Wefaq leader.
Anti-regime protesters have been holding demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
The ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful demonstrations has left scores of Bahrainis dead and hundreds of others injured.
