Bahrainis denied most basic human rights: Sheikh Salman
Jailed Bahraini Shia cleric Sheikh Ali Salman has censured Manama’s heavy-handed crackdown on dissent, saying the Al Khalifa regime is trampling on the most basic human rights and freedoms in the Persian Gulf state.
In a Twitter message addressed to an annual security conference underway in the Bahraini capital (known as the Manama Dialogue), Salman urged the participants in the forum to have in mind the fact that people in his country are stripped of fundamental human rights – particularly freedom of expression – by Al Khalifa rulers, Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.
The two-day event, which opened earlier on Saturday, is focused on regional security challenges.
Salman further said that a great proportion of the Bahraini population has paid dearly in pursuit of demands for the establishment of democracy and respect for human rights in Bahrain.
Thousands of dissidents are currently being held in Bahrain jails, while hundreds of people have been forced out of their jobs since an uprising began against the Al Khalifa rule in 2011, said the 50-year-old Shia figure.
The imprisoned opposition leader also urged participants in the Manama conference to help create an atmosphere of serious dialog between the Al Khalifa regime and the opposition.
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 Bahraini Interior Ministry and inciting others to break the law. He was acquitted of seeking regime change.
Fresh anti-regime protests
Meanwhile, scores of anti-regime protesters staged rallies in Bahrain, calling for the immediate release of Sheikh Ali Salman as well as an end to the Al Khalifa rule on Friday evening.
The demonstrators held a rally in the northwestern village of Diraz, located about 12 kilometers (seven miles) southeast of the capital, Manama, following Friday prayers, demanding the establishment of a democratic administration in Bahrain and the release of the top Shia clergyman.
Similar rallies were also held in other parts of Bahrain, where marchers denounced the death sentence handed down to renowned Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, calling on Saudi judiciary officials to overturn the ruling.
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