Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of Bahrain's Shiite opposition party Al-Wefaq, could be sentenced up to 19 years in prison on charges of plotting a coup, Salman's lawyer Abdallah Shamlawi said Wednesday.
"The term of sentence on four charges against Sheikh Ali Salman might be up to 19 years," Shamlawi was quoted as saying by the Bahraini daily newspaper Al-Wasat.
On December 28, 2014, Salman was arrested in Bahrain's capital Manama charged with attempted regime change despite persistent international calls for his release.
His arrest led to mass protests in Bahrain, as Shiite opposition supporters held rallies demanding Salman's release.
On Monday, Bahrain's Public Prosecution announced that the date of the court trial was scheduled for January 28.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday urged Western governments to break their silence on Bahrain’s continued detention of opposition figures.
Joe Stork, who serves HRW’s deputy director for MENA region, described the Al Khalifa regime as a “serial offender” in prosecuting the “peaceful critics,” noting that Salman’s arrest was a “calculated move” to give the signal to the world that the regime is fundamentally opposed to political reconciliation and people’s rights for freedom and democracy.
Bahrain has arrested tens of activists and opposition figures over the past months.
The HRW official called on Manama to immediately release Salman as the government has “failed” to provide evidence that he has really collaborated with foreign elements in an attempt to change the regime.
Bahrain, a close ally of the United States in the region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011. Bahraini forces have killed close to 90 activists over the past three years while hundreds of protesters as well as notable opposition figures continue to remain under arrest in the regime’s notorious prisons.