UN: Sheikh Salman Arbitrarily Detained
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has officially declared Sheikh Ali Salman, the prominent leader of Bahrain’s opposition party al-Wefaq, to be arbitrarily detained by the Bahraini regime.
The decision, which cites both free expression and due process concerns, requests that Al Khalifa release Sheikh Ali Salman immediately, and provide him with an enforceable right to compensation against the government, the official website of Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) reported on Thursday.
ADHRB and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) applaud the decision by the Working Group, and demand that the Bahraini regime respect the UN decision and immediately release Sheikh Ali Salman.
Salman was detained on December 28, 2014 on charges of attempting to overthrow the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty and collaboration with foreign powers. He has strongly denied the charges, emphasizing that he has been seeking reforms in Bahrain through peaceful means.
On June 16, a Bahraini court sentenced Salman to four years in prison on charges such as insulting the country's Interior Ministry and inciting others to break the law. He was acquitted of seeking regime change.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis on the streets of the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, calling on the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful rallies.
