Senior Opposition Figure Detained in Bahrain
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bahraini authorities reportedly detained Sheikh Ali Salman, Secretary General of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc al-Wefaq Society, on Sunday.
Sheikh Ali Salman was taken into custody by the country’s prosecutor general, al-Wefaq website reported.
Sheikh Salman, who had been summoned by the interior ministry for questioning, was detained after entering the justice department’s criminal investigations building in al-Adliya district in Manama.
Security forces prevented his lawyers from accompanying him into the building.
There has been no word as to how long he is going to be held in custody.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry had ordered Salman to appear before police investigators on Sunday without providing any explanation as to why the summons was issued.
The arrest came just two days after the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society reelected Sheikh Ali Salman as its leader.
Sheikh Salman, 49, was handed a new four-year stint at al-Wefaq's general congress on Friday night. The meeting was held in compliance with a law on associations that led to a three-month ban on the opposition party.
On July 20, the kingdom’s Justice Ministry asked a court to suspend the activities of al-Wefaq “so that it can correct its legal status."
The ministry claimed that the group has lost its legal status after the annulment of four of its general conferences and a failure to follow approved procedures.
Bahrain has been the scene of almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011 when a pro-democracy uprising began in the kingdom.
