Ahlul Bayt News Agency - The Iranian foreign ministry voiced concern over the extension of the detention of Bahrain's opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman.
"Such actions are not helpful to the settlement of Bahrain's problems," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Wednesday.
Warning that continued security situation and police state in Bahrain would further complicate the conditions, she called on the al-Khalifa regime to show care for public demands and build people's confidence.
The trial of Bahrain's top opposition leader was adjourned till May 20, in a case that has riled his supporters and heightened unrest in the tiny Persian Gulf country.
Wednesday's trial of Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of al-Wefaq Islamic Society, heard testimony from key defense witnesses. Salman will be remanded in custody till his next hearing.
Bahrainis staged protests in many areas across Bahrain on Wednesday against the detention of Sheikh Ali Salman. The protesters, carrying pictures of Sheikh Ali Salman, called for his immediate release.
Sheikh Salman was detained by Bahraini forces on December 28, 2014, two days after he was re-elected as the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society party’s secretary-general.
The opposition leader is charged with seeking to overthrow the Al Khalifa regime and collaborating with foreign powers. The opposition leader strongly denies the allegations.
The anti-government protesters also held banners calling for the release of all political prisoners.
Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the al-Khalifa dynasty.
Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.
So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.
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