Amnesty: Bahrain's extension of Salman's jail term 'shocking'
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Bahrainis hold placards bearing the portrait of Sheikh Ali Salman
Amnesty International has lambasted Bahrain's decision to uphold the conviction of opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman and increase his prison sentence from four to nine years.
The London-based rights group said the decision by Bahrain authorities on Sunday is "a shocking attack on the right to freedom of expression."
"Sheikh Ali Salman’s conviction is clearly politically motivated and is designed to send a message to others that even legitimate and peaceful demands for reform will not go unpunished," said Amnesty International's James Lynch.
Sheikh Salman is "a prisoner of conscience and should never have been put on trial in the first place. He must be immediately and unconditionally released,” said Lynch.
In recent years, Bahrain has tightened its grip on freedom of expression with multiple arrests and harassment of opposition politicians and activists.
Amnesty also mentioned Ebrahim Sharif, former secretary general of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) who was imprisoned for one year on February 24 for calling for reform in a speech.
Another prisoner, former secretary of the Wahdawi party Fadhel Abbas Mahdi Mohamed, serves a five-year sentence after an "unfair" trial in June 2015 for condemning Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.
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