Bahraini court decided on Wednesday to keep opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman behind bars and set the next hearing in Manama for February 25.

Bahraini court decided on Wednesday to keep opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman behind bars and set the next hearing in Manama for February 25.

Sheikh Salman rejected the charges against him as his trial opened Wednesday, the powerful opposition bloc Al-Wefaq said in a statement.

Al-Wefaq's leader, aged 49, was arrested on December 28 and his detention has sparked near-daily protests across the kingdom.

Sheikh Salman has been accused of "promoting the overthrow and change of the political regime by force", and of inciting disobedience and hatred in public statements, accusations which he strongly denies.

Salman's defense team called for his release on bail as the opposition chief pleaded innocent, judicial sources said.

His arrest had sparked condemnation from the United States, Iran and international rights groups, and in a joint statement on Wednesday, 109 parliamentarians from 43 countries called for his "immediate release".

Salman himself, in a letter from prison published on Al-Wefaq's website, said he is in prison " for the same reasons that led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela -- (the call for) equality, freedom and democracy," who spent 27 years in South African prisons during his fight against apartheid.

"Do not feel sad for my imprisonment. I am ready to spend my whole life as a prisoner for you and for your children's happiness," he said addressing Bahraini people.

At least 89 Bahrainis have been killed in clashes with security forces since 2011, including kids and women and elderly people, while hundreds have been fired, arrested and put on trial, rights groups say.