Bahrain’s appeals court refused bail Tuesday for opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman pending its review of his conviction for allegedly inciting ‘disobedience and hatred’
Bahrain’s appeals court refused bail Tuesday for opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman pending its review of his conviction for allegedly inciting ‘disobedience and hatred’, while the prosecution demanded his four-year sentence be stiffened.
Sheikh Salman was convicted of those two charges in June, but acquitted of the more unjust one of seeking to topple the monarchy and change the political system in Bahrain.
The court rejected a request for bail by Sheikh Salman’s defense team.
And the prosecution called for annulling his acquittal for plotting to overthrow the regime, demanding a tougher sentence.
The court adjourned the case until October 14.
His hearing came just hours after 33 states said the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern. 33 states highlighted the lack of sufficient guarantees of fair trial in Bahrain and called for the release of all persons imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights.
The joint statement was signed by Andorra, Australia Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The United States of America, Uruguay.
Leading international human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have considered Sheikh Ali Salman a prisoner of conscience undergoing an unfair trial that is lacking international standards. HRW’s Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said, “The court’s refusal to consider crucial defense evidence confirms the political nature of Sheikh Ali Salman’s prosecution.” Adding, “The manifest unfairness of the trial means the authorities should release Salman immediately.”
Also demonstrations took place in more than 45 areas in Bahrain, on Monday evening, demanding the release of Secretary General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
