Sheikh Ali Salman to be Tried for 'Espionage' for Qatar

The Attorney General of Bahrain announced on Sunday, November 12, that Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of the Shia opposition, will be tried on charges of 'espionage' for Qatar. According to a report by AFP citing the Attorney General's Twitter, 'The case of Ali Salman, Hassan Sultan, and Ali Mahdi has been referred to the High Criminal Court as defendants accused of espionage for the Qatari government.' Ali Salman, the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq party, has been imprisoned since 2014 on charges of inciting hatred. Initially sentenced to nine years in prison, his sentence was later reduced to four years. The Attorney General has accused Salman of 'espionage for a foreign country... with the aim of carrying out sabotage operations against Bahrain and causing damage to national interests.' Other charges against Salman include 'leaking defense secrets to a foreign country and disseminating information that undermines Bahrain's position and credibility.' Investigations into the alleged relationship between Salman and Qatar began about two months ago when four Arab countries, including Bahrain, accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and maintaining close ties with Iran. Simultaneously, Bahrain's state television claimed that its neighbor, Qatar, had secretly been involved in anti-government protests in Bahrain that have caused unrest in the small kingdom over the past six years. The report alleged that Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, former Prime Minister of Qatar, contacted Salman six years ago, asking him to encourage protesters to increase pressure on the government by taking to the streets. Before the representatives of Al-Wefaq collectively resigned in protest against the crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations in 2011 and called for an elected government, Al-Wefaq was the largest parliamentary faction in Bahrain. The Bahraini government, which has a Shia majority, has been ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa family for over two centuries. Shia citizens in the country have long been dissatisfied with their marginalization, and the kingdom has been the scene of sporadic unrest since 2011.