Confirmation of 9-Year Prison Sentence for Bahraini Shia Party Leader

A court in Bahrain on Monday, December 13, confirmed the 9-year prison sentence of Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of the Shia opposition in Bahrain; an action that drew severe criticism from human rights groups on the same day. Sheikh Salman, 51, leader of the Al-Wefaq movement, is described as a moderate opponent who, unlike groups calling for the overthrow of the Al Khalifa dynasty, seeks to establish a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain. According to AFP, Amnesty International, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, and several other organizations condemned the confirmation of Sheikh Salman’s prison sentence on Monday, describing it as a "gross violation of the right to freedom of expression." Human Rights Watch also stated that Sheikh Ali Salman was detained and imprisoned while "always calling for non-violence and the continuation of peaceful protests" in his speeches. Sheikh Ali Salman, who played a key role in the 2011 protests in Bahrain, was arrested in December 2014 for his speeches. Initially, he was sentenced to four years in prison for "disrupting public order and insulting the Ministry of Interior," but this spring, the appeals court increased his sentence to 9 years by adding "calling for a change of government by force" to the charges against him. Ultimately, in October of this year (October 17), the Bahraini Supreme Court overturned the 9-year prison sentence for Mr. Salman, ruling that the court handling his charges should be reconstituted. Now, the appeals court has confirmed his 9-year prison sentence on Monday. The Al-Wefaq movement is a Shia party that held the majority of parliamentary seats in the country. However, after the so-called Arab Spring protests in the country, the representatives of this party collectively resigned in protest against the government's handling of the protests and called for the establishment of an elected government. Since then, the activities and members of this movement have been under pressure from the government, and some figures associated with it have also been imprisoned or stripped of their citizenship. The majority of Bahrain's population is Shia, but the rulers of this country belong to the Sunni minority, and the demand of the Al-Wefaq movement is the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in the country. The decision to dissolve this opposition party, which was confirmed in the appeals court in September, not only sparked criticism in Iran, as a Shia country supporting the opposition, but was also strongly criticized by the UN Secretary-General and Bahrain's allies in the United States and the United Kingdom. The U.S. State Department recently stated in a report that efforts to achieve national reconciliation in Bahrain have reached a deadlock since the protests in 2011. The report emphasized that the Bahraini government has not implemented recommendations for reforms regarding the guarantee of freedom of expression, including for the opposition. In this context, a Bahraini court confirmed the death sentence and life imprisonment for 10 defendants in a bombing case. The Al-Wefaq movement has appealed the dissolution ruling to the Supreme Court. Bahraini activists reported that the police summoned five Shia clerics. The U.S. stated that efforts for national reconciliation in Bahrain have reached a deadlock.