Salman Denies Charges Pressed by Bahraini Regime: Opposition Figure
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An official at Bahrain’s main opposition party al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said detained secretary general of the party, Sheikh Ali Salman, has rejected the entire charges against him brought by the Manama regime.
Speaking to Tasnim on Saturday, Hadi al-Mousavi, head of the freedom and human rights section of al-Wefaq, said Sheikh Salman, kept in custody since December 28, has vehemently denied allegations that he has provoked violence in the Persian Gulf country.
The Bahraini regime forces detained Sheikh Salman on December 28, 2014, after long hours of investigations in criminal investigations building.
According to his lawyer, Sheikh Salman is charged with “provoking hatred for the ruling regime and attending illegal demonstrations”.
Elsewhere in his comments, Mousavi said Sheikh Salman has also denied allegations of pitting tribes and ethnicities against each other, saying the detained leader has stressed al-Wefaq’s respect for the whole Bahraini groups.
The third charge Sheikh Salman has denied was insulting Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, Mousavi added.
Opposition groups describe Sheikh Salman as an Islamic moderate figure who believes in Islamic and national unity and values such as freedom, human dignity and equal citizenship rights.
They refer to the accusations leveled by the regime against the senior cleric as unjust, illusory and absurd.
They also say the regime’s move to take Sheikh Salman into custody is aimed at stifling the revolution of Bahraini people who seek freedom, human dignity, justice and democracy.
