News / Persian Gulf

HRW censures Bahrain extension of Sheikh Salman jail term

Thursday, 02 June 2016 5:43 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 02 June 2016 5:57 PM ]

Bahraini men hold placards bearing the portrait of Sheikh Ali Salman during a protest against his arrest at the al-Wefaq headquarters in Zinj, near Manama, May 29, 2016. © AFP

Human Rights Watch has condemned Bahrain’s recent move to extend the jail term of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, saying such repressive measures will foment instability in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

The New York-based rights organization denounced the move as a miscarriage of justice in a statement released on Thursday, three days after an appeals court increased Sheikh Salman’s prison sentence from four to nine years.

HRW said the court’s decision to more than double Salman’s jail term came despite “strong evidence” showing that the clergyman’s initial trial was “unfair” and some charges leveled against him violated the free speech right.

"Sheikh Salman is the latest casualty of Bahrain's war on dissent, but he won't be the last unless Bahrain's allies in London and Washington loudly protest this travesty of justice," said Joe Stork, HRW's deputy Middle East director.

"This level of repression will not create stability for Bahrain, but quite the opposite," Stork added.

Sheikh Salman, the secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq, was arrested in December 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the Manama regime and collaborating with foreign powers.

He denies the allegations, saying he has been seeking reforms in the country through peaceful means.

In June 2015, a Bahraini court sentenced him to four years in prison on charges such as insulting the Bahraini Interior Ministry and inciting others to break the law. He was acquitted of seeking regime change.

On Monday, the Supreme Court of Appeal prolonged Salman’s prison sentence on charges of inciting violence and calling for anti-regime demonstrations.

A Bahraini woman takes a photo as anti-regime protesters clash with riot police firing tear gas in Shahrakan, Bahrain, April 5, 2016. © AP

Since mid-February 2011, Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests demanding that the ruling family relinquish power.

The Al Khalifah regime is engaged in a harsh crackdown on dissent and widespread discrimination against the country's Shia-majority. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the island country.

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