Bahrain’s supreme court upholds Ali Salman’s life sentence

Bahrain‘s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a life sentence for Shia opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman over charges of spying for neighbouring Qatar, according to a judicial source.

Salman, who headed the now-outlawed Al-Wefaq movement, was convicted in November of “communicating with Qatari officials… to overthrow constitutional order”, a ruling rights groups have called a travesty.

His aides Ali al-Aswad and Hassan Sultan, who had been sentenced to life in absentia, also lost their right to appeal. Both men are former MPs and currently reside outside Bahrain.

Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence in a separate case – “inciting hatred” in the kingdom.

Qatar has repeatedly denied the accusations of conspiring against Bahrain with Salman.

GCC crisis

Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), severed all ties with Qatar in 2017, banning their citizens from travel to or communication with the fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member.

Ruled for more than two centuries by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, Bahrain has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shia-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

Bahrain’s two main opposition groups – Al-Wefaq and the secular Waad – are prohibited from representation in parliament.

Bahraini authorities accuse Shia-dominated Iran of provoking unrest in the kingdom. Tehran denies the allegation.

Human rights groups have frequently said cases against activists in Bahrain – men and women, religious and secular – fail to meet the basic standards of fair trials.