Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of Wefaq National Islamic Society, whom Al Khalifa thought would manage to subject to its autocracy, has not only shown no weakness after eight years of imprisonment but also pursued his anti-dictatorship struggle powerfully from the prison.
Sheikh Salman, who is sentenced to life in prison, on the eighth anniversary of his imprisonment issued a statement, thanking his family and all those supported him for eight years. Stressing the importance of reform, he said that stopping the reform pursuit is not permissible and “is a betrayal of the God, country, and nation.” Ali Salman pointed to the efforts of Wefaq and the opposition in order to advance reforms in the country, adding that the answer to this activism was dissolving the societies, killing their members and supporters, arresting and expelling their leaders, and imposing dispute and political isolation on the opposition.
Concerning the Al Khalifa regime’s actions against the Bahraini opposition, the cleric recommended to “brothers and sisters” not to let anyone fall into the illusion that suppressing the struggle for democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights is a victory, adding that this suppression is a “clear loss” for the one who does it. In another part of his statement, Sheikh Salman referred to the initiative presented by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council proposed by the time’s Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and his Qatar counterpart Hamad bin Jassim to settle the crisis. He continued that bin Jassim, as a representative of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Persian), contacted him at the request of Al-Faisal to find a solution.
“Should I have refused to answer this call? What if I refused? If I rejected it, everyone would interpret this action as stubbornness and rejection of the dialogue, Sheikh Salman held, adding “I answered this call with the aim of finding a solution to get the country out of the crisis as quickly as possible, but after eight years, I was surprised to see that my overt phone conversation with the Cooperation Council representative was considered [by the government] espionage and a crime.
One of the leaders of the protest movement of the 2011 revolution, Sheikh Salman demanded political and economic reforms. But Saudi-backed Al Khalifa rulers, too despotic to listen to the opposition and criticism, chose Iron fist in dealing with the protests to solidify its rule since the beginning. Although the street protests subsided after a while, pro-freedom and democracy leaders like Sheikh Salman did not stop struggle and in order to enlighten public opinion, exposed the crimes of the Al-Khalifa regime in their speeches. Intolerant government of Bahrain finally arrested Sheikh Salman and other leaders of uprising. In December 2014, Sheikh Salman was arrested by the security forces and sent to prison, and an unfair court sentenced him to four years in prison, and in 2018, after the end of the initial sentence, he was handed life sentence on the unfounded charge of espionage, and all domestic and international efforts for his release have not come to fruition so far.
Espionage label and image damage
Al-Khalifa court imprisoned Sheikh Salman on charges of espionage while he had only one phone conversation with the Qatari official, and the details of these conversation remain undisclosed and it is unclear whether or not Sheikh Salman agreed to the request of the Qatari side, which undoubtedly was in favor of Al-Khalifa. Even if he did not answer the call, he would most likely be charged with opposing the government’s request to work out peace. On the other hand, this call was made at the suggestion of the Saudi authorities, which is the main supporter and ally of the Al-Khalifa regime, and undoubtedly the Manama authorities knew about it, but because they were looking for an excuse, they abused the phone conversation to label the cleric a traitor and a threat to national security.
Bahrain rulers are trying to tarnish image of Sheikh Salman and other pro-freedom and democracy forces with such false accusations and to insinuate that those who took the leadership of the protesters were not looking for peace and intended to destroy the country. But no one has believed this Al Khalifa account since 2011.
Public demands for Sheikh Salman release
Despite violent suppression of the opposition and the creation of a suffocating political atmosphere, the people of Bahrain have not stopped fighting for freedom and supporting their leaders. In recent days, the Bahrainis demanded the release of Sheikh Ali Salman and all prisoners of conscience by holding peaceful demonstrations. In recent years, they have continued their peaceful protests from time to time in push for fundamental changes in the governance structure and vowed that they will not back down until their demands are met. These protests have increased in recent months due to frequent visits of Israeli officials to Bahrain, with people expressing strong opposition to normalization with Tel Aviv.
In addition to the Bahraini Shiites, the international community has repeatedly asked Al-Khalifa to end the repression of the opposition. In this regard, the European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a human rights activist in this country. This resolution called for an end to any torture of prisoners in Bahraini prisons; the representatives of the European Parliament presented many recommendations and demands to the government of Bahrain regarding human rights violations. Several international law groups, the UN, and several countries have repeatedly called for the unconditional release of Sheikh Ali Salman. But Al-Khalifa, who resists any political reforms, considers the release of opposition prisoners as a prelude to the start of a new round of protests and demands for their rights.
In addition to the Shiites at home, the international community has repeatedly asked Al-Khalifa to end the repression of the opposition. As part of this activism, the European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a human rights activist in Bahrain. This resolution called for an end to any torture of prisoners in Bahraini prisons. The European Parliament lawmakers presented a set of recommendations and demands to the government of Bahrain regarding human rights violations. Several international law groups, the UN, and several countries have repeatedly called for the unconditional release of Sheikh Salman. But Al-Khalifa, who resists any political reforms, considers the release of opposition prisoners as injection of new breathe into the opposition and risking new major protests.
Settling scores with regional rivals
Charges of espionage for Qatar against Sheikh Salman are mainly driven by a rivalry with Doha that does not back Manama policy and even criticizes its crimes. Experiencing strained ties with Qatar over regional policies and a dispute over sea borders, Bahrain seeks to involve Doha by spying charges against Sheikh Salman. This is also because Qatar is opposed to normalization with Israel, something not appealing to Manama rulers. In recent days, Qatari media outlets have accused the Bahraini authorities of cracking down on the tribes of Qatari roots in Bahrain. These media have expressed concern about this issue and labeled it a violation of human rights. Al-Lwaa website of Qatar went even further and in a report called the continued crackdown against Bahraini citizens as the “biggest problem” of this regime and held that this injustice is affecting a wide part of the nation. Driven by this rivalry, the rulers of Manama are trying to introduce the opposition as Qatar’s mercenaries who intended to bring insecurity and chaos to the country.
At the same time, Al Khalifa utilizes pressures against its own
Shiite citizens as a lever to revenge on the Shiite-majority Iran that
condemns its crackdown on the dissidents. Manama has always linked
opposition protests to what it called Iranian interference in its home
affairs to discredit this popular protest movement. However, each time
this policy is adopted by the government, Sheikh Salman with his
enlightenments foils it and returns the criticism to the government’s
suppression.
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