Bahraini Authorities Escalate Tension: Summon Salman, Jail 10 Activists to Life
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The leader of Bahrain's main opposition group, the al-Wefaq Islamic Association, has been charged with insulting the interior ministry by the country's public prosecutor.
The group's secretary general, Sheikh Ali Salman, has become the most senior opposition figure to be charged since the protests in 2011, that aimed at demanding political change and a greater role in the country run by al-Khalifa royal family.
Salman was interrogated on Sunday about an opposition exhibition which authorities shut down last week due to being "illegal and inciting hatred."
He was accused of "denigrating and disparaging the interior ministry" by alleging human rights violations by the police against protesters during a speech at the opening of the Revolution Museum, minister of state for the Information Affairs Authority, Samira Rajab, told state news agency BNA.
Rajab claimed that the speeches, which were delivered on Monday by Salman and other al-Wefaq members, were "packed with lies...which represented an affront to the status of the police."
The opposition leader was released after five hours of questioning, and charged with insulting Bahrain's interior ministry.
Salman told Reuters that his interrogation was "a totally unacceptable and meaningless" act on the part of the government.
"Summoning the general secretary of a top political society which gained the votes of more than 60 percent of the population [in the last parliamentary election] is a clear violation of our political work and our freedom," he said.
The group stated on its website that measures implemented against its leader are part of a campaign of "political extortion and revenge against the peaceful opposition, which is demanding democracy and rejects tyranny."
Bahraini authorities have recently summoned a number of political activists and human rights campaigners for questioning over statements which they claimed promoted violence.
Al-Wefaq's deputy head, Khalil al-Marzouq, was detained in September and is on now trial for inciting terrorism.
Marzouq's arrest prompted al-Wefaq to suspend its participation in talks with the government which began in February.
Meanwhile, the Manama court jailed four protesters for life and sentenced six others to 15-year terms for forming an alleged Iran-linked "terrorist cell" to mount attacks in Bahrain, a judicial source said.
The defendants were part of a group of 24 on trial, of whom 14 were acquitted.
The interior ministry claimed in February that it had busted a "terrorist cell" which planned to carry out attacks on sensitive military and civilian sites as well as public figures.
Since September 29, a total of 138 activists and protest leaders have been sentenced to prison terms of up to life, after dictator Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa in August ordered that dissidents face stiffer penalties.
At least 90 people have been martyred at the hands of police since a mostly-peaceful anti-government rebellion began in February 2011, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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