Amnesty Urges Freedom to Sheikh Salman ahead of Verdict

Amnesty International called on Bahrain on Monday to free its most prominent opposition figure, a day before an expected verdict on charges that he allegedly ‘incited violence’ against the Persian Gulf Arab state’s monarchy.

Sheikh Ali Salman, a Muslim cleric and head of the al Wefaq Islamic Society, was arrested in December in a case that angered his followers and stirred unrest.

London-based Amnesty said it deemed Salman “a prisoner of conscience detained solely for peacefully expressing his views.”

“The detention and trial of Sheikh Ali Salman is a blatant violation of his right to freedom of expression and demonstrates the Bahraini authorities’ continued attempt to suppress political opposition and silence critical voices,” it said.