Bahraini: Sheikh Ali Salman rejects charges of collusion with Qatar

Prominent Bahraini religious scholar and opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman has roundly dismissed charges of working with the energy-rich Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar to overthrow Bahrain’s ruling Aal-e Khalifah regime.

“Sheikh Ali rejected the allegations leveled against him,” a judicial source told AFP Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

During a Wednesday hearing, the 52-year-old secretary general of the dissolved al-Wefaq National Islamic Society pleaded not guilty to espionage charges. The court deferred the next hearing until December 28.

The opposition figure and two of his colleagues, Hassan Sultan and Ali al-Aswad, were charged on November 1 with “spying on behalf of a foreign country... with the aim of carrying out subversive acts against Bahrain and harming its national interests.”

He has been in jail on a nine-year prison sentence since late 2014 for what the Manama regime has called “insulting” government officials, “inciting” unrest through his speeches targeting the authorities during the 2011 uprising, attempting to overthrow the regime and collaborating with foreign powers.

Sheikh Salman rejects all the allegations, saying he has merely been seeking reforms in the country through peaceful means.

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

SS