Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association said on Tuesday that the charges against Salman, head of the opposition al-Wefaq movement, may be a result of his exercise of freedom of expression and dissenting views.
The UN official also demanded the Bahraini regime provide the international body with further information in relation to the judicial investigation against him.
The remarks by the senior UN official come days after five UN rights experts called on the Bahraini regime to free Salman, emphasizing that the charges against him "appear to stem from the government's dissatisfaction" with Salman's calls "for the establishment of a democratic regime and for government accountability."
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also called on the Manama regime to immediately release the al-Wefaq leader, Press TV reported.
However, the authorities in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom have not heeded international calls.