28 Mar 2024
Wednesday 1 June 2016 - 00:18
Story Code : 216507

Iran raps Bahraini Sheikh Salman's jail term extension



Iran has lashed out at Bahrain for extending the jail term of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, who is the secretary general of the countrys main opposition party, al-Wefaq.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Tuesday that such measures against moderate political leaders will never help solve the currentissuesin Bahrain.

He emphasized that such moves would complicate Bahrains problems and would "ultimately serveextremists.

Sheikh Salman was originally sentenced on June 16, 2015 to four years in prison after a trial which Amnesty Internationaldescribed as "unfair."

The Bahrain tribunal charged him with publicly insulting the Interior Ministry and publicly inciting others to disobey the law in his speeches.

His appeal had been pending for eight months but the Supreme Court of Appeal increased Salmans prison sentence on charges of inciting violence and calling for anti-regime demonstrations to nine years from the original four.

The al-Wefaq opposition group, headed by Salman, denounced the court ruling as unacceptable and provocative, saying it entrenches the exacerbating political crisis in Bahrain.

Al-Wefaq was Bahrain's largest parliamentary bloc until its 18 MPs walked out in February 2011 to protest violence used against demonstrators.

Amnesty International also on Tuesday lambasted Bahrain's decision to uphold the conviction of Sheikh Salman, saying, Sheikh Ali Salmans 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."

In recent years, Bahrain has tightened its grip on freedom of expression with multiple arrests and harassment of opposition politicians and activists.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since mid-February 2011.

The tiny sheikhdom's heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrations with the help of Saudi Arabia has left scores of people dead and hundreds injured.

By Press TV

https://theiranproject.com/vdcawinu049n6m1.tgk4.html
Your Name
Your Email Address