Bahrain Extends Detention of Sheikh Salman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Bahrain is pressing ahead with its crackdown on opposition forces, extending detention of prominent cleric Sheikh Ali Salman for the second conservative time.
Bahrain Public Prosecutor's Office extended for an unlimited period the detention of Sheikh Salman, the secretary general of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the monarchy’s largest opposition bloc.
The extension came after an eight-hour investigation of the cleric.
Salman was arrested in late December 2014 over alleged anti-regime incitements.
The 49-year-old cleric is charged with “promoting regime change by force, threats, and illegal means, and of insulting the Interior Ministry publicly,” said Bahraini prosecutor Nayef Mahmud.
Tensions have been running high in the monarchy since Salman’s arrest, Press TV reported.
Security forces on Thursday opened fire on the demonstrators demanding the release of the detained opposition leader. The forces also stormed into a mosque in the capital, Manama, and arrested a number of protesters.
The arrest is part of the Al Khalifah regime’s brutal suppression of anti-regime protesters since 2011. Scores of people have been killed and thousands more wounded during the crackdown. The regime has also detained many protesters.
