Bahrain Court Confirms 9-Year Sentence against Sheikh Salman

Bahrain’s appeals court has ruled to uphold a nine-year jail sentence handed down to senior Shia opposition cleric, Sheikh Ali Salman, despite widespread criticism both at home and abroad against his imprisonment.

The verdict against cleric Ali Salman, whose Al-Wefaq movement was dissolved in July, was re-imposed after the court of cassation had overturned the nine-year jail term in October.

A judicial source said the verdict was issued during a Monday trial session.

On the eve of the trial, hundreds of Bahrainis staged anti-regime protest rallies across the Persian Gulf kingdom to demand the immediate release of Sheikh Salman.

The protesters poured out into the streets in the villages of Diraz, al-Markh and Saar as well as the town of Bilad al-Qadeem on Sunday evening.

On October 16, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial of the senior Shia opposition figure, who has been sentenced to nine years in jail in a series of previous trials.

Earlier this month, the tribunal adjourned the trial of Sheikh Salman to December 12.

He was arrested in December 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the Manama regime and collaborating with foreign powers. Sheikh Salman denies the charges, saying he has merely been seeking reforms in the country through peaceful means.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have slammed his arrest and called for his release.

During the Sunday rallies, the demonstrators also expressed their solidarity with top Shia scholar Sheikh Issa Qassem, who was stripped of his citizenship on June 20 in yet another repressive measure by the regime against political dissent.

Besides al-Wefaq, the regime has also dissolved the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association and Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassem.