AhlulBayt News Agency - The appeals court’s 9 year sentence handed to opposition leader and Secretary General of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society Sheikh Ali Salman is an alarming politically-motivated verdict. This decision only deepens the political and constitutional crisis in Bahrain.
Al Wefaq finds that this verdict is an attempt to escape the domestic and international appeals calling on Bahrain to release Sheikh Ali Salman. The verdict also reflects the Bahraini regime’s settlement to reject national reconciliation by turning its back on international calls urging to address the country’s political crisis.
Sheikh Ali Salman is a great national figure who has raised demands for reform within legal boundaries. He participated in the political process and maintained his calls for reform to achieve good governance by implementing the principles of the National Action Charter. In the many statements issued by international human rights NGOs Sheikh Salman has been proven innocent of the charges set against him and a prisoner of conscience. He is known for his patriotic and peaceful stances as a leading figure for unity, coexistence and civil peace.
The verdict against Sheikh Ali Salman further extends the political crisis in Bahrain amid an absence of national consensus and widening human rights abuses.
Al Wefaq will continue its advocacy for an inclusive political reform that fulfills the aspirations of the aspirations of the Bahraini people. The Bahraini regime must pave the way for a real dialogue by releasing all political prisoners and ending the ongoing human rights violations and allowing freedom of opinion and expression.
The majority of the Bahraini people are demanding an elected government, a full power parliament, fair electoral constituencies, security for all and an independent judiciary. These are all foundations of a modern state that stands on justice and equal citizenship. They are purely national demands and will not be changed or replaced. The people of Bahrain have no other choice but to continue to raise these same demands that Sheikh Ali Salman called for.
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source : al-Wefaq
Tuesday
31 May 2016
3:22:29 AM
757382
The appeals court’s 9 year sentence handed to opposition leader and Secretary General of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society Sheikh Ali Salman is an alarming politically-motivated verdict. This decision only deepens the political and constitutional crisis in Bahrain.