Bahrainis demonstrate in support of al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman

People have taken to the streets in Bahrain to show their support for the detained secretary general of the country’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

On Friday, protesters staged a demonstration in the capital, Manama, to demand the release of Sheikh Ali Salman.

Similar demonstrations were also held in the northwestern village of Diraz, the island of Sitra, situated about 12 kilometers (7 miles) southeast of Manama, and the village of Karzakan, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of the capital.

Bahraini forces arrested Sheikh Salman on December 28.

Prosecutors charged the 49-year-old senior opposition leader with a bid to change the ruling Al Khalifa regime in the kingdom.

Sheikh Salman is charged with “promoting regime change by force, threats, and illegal means and of insulting the Interior Ministry publicly,” prosecutor Nayef Mahmud said in a statement on December 29.

The Bahraini opposition group has called for the immediate release of Sheikh Salman, describing his arrest as “an escalating step that targets social stability and civil peace in Bahrain.”

The European Union has warned that Sheikh Salman’s arrest will worsen Bahrain’s already fragile political and security situation.

On December 30, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on the Manama regime to release the al-Wefaq leader.