Bahrain: Sheikh Ali Salman into Life Sentence!

Local Editor

In a Monarchy that is governed by brutality, Bahrain's opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been handed a life sentence.

The ruling comes just months after the Bahraini High Court of First Tier acquitted Salman of the charge of "colluding" with the rival state, Qatar.

Human rights group Amnesty has described the decision as a "travesty of justice" amid Bahrain's "continued crackdown on dissent".

"This verdict... demonstrates the Bahraini authorities' relentless and unlawful efforts to silence any form of dissent," Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director Heba Morayef said.

"Sheikh Ali Salman is a prisoner of conscience who is being held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression."

As leader of the main opposition party, Sheikh Ali Salman was among those calling for democratic reforms including a constitutional monarchy and elected prime minister.

Al-Wefaq had the biggest bloc in parliament before the 2011 protests but its members resigned when those were suppressed. Later the party was banned - along with other religious and secular opposition groups.

Dozens of clerics and activists have been jailed. Before this verdict, Sheikh Ali Salman was already imprisoned on charges of inciting hatred.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team