24/ 25 January 2016

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Bahrain accuses jailed
opposition leader of
incitement
A Shi'ite opposition leader
already serving a four-year
jail sentence in Bahrain
has been accused of three
more offences including
"public incitement against
the constitutional order of
the country", his lawyer
said on Sunday.
The public prosecutor's
office
said
it
was
investigating content on
the social media account
of Ali Salman, who was
convicted last year of
inciting unrest, and had
questioned him in the
presence of three lawyers.
The charges also include
not
complying
with

Bahrain officials open

new case against jailed
Shiite leader
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP)
Bahraini authorities have
launched a new criminal
case against the country's
top Shiite opposition figure
over comments posted on
his Twitter account while he
is behind bars.
The
official
Bahrain
News Agency reported
Sunday that the case
against Sheikh Ali Salman
has been referred to the
Public Prosecution office
"following
violations
posted on his Twitter
account." It did not
elaborate.

laws and calling for

unauthorized
marches.
"The public prosecution
formally charged him with
these accusations," one of
Salman's lawyers, Hassan
Radhi,
said,
adding
that the charges carried
sentences of six months to
three years.
The Sunni Muslim-led
island kingdom, which
hosts the U.S. Fifth
Fleet, has experienced
sporadic unrest since
mass protests in 2011
led by majority Shi'ites
demanding reforms and a
bigger role in government.
The government denies
opposition
charges
it
discriminates
against
Shi'ites.

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Salman is the secretarygeneral of the al-Wefaq

Shiite political opposition
group and was a key figure
in the 2011 Arab Springinspired uprising against
the Sunni monarchy. He
was sentenced to four
years in prison in June
after being found guilty
on charges that included
incitement and insulting
the Interior Ministry.
Al-Wefaq said Salman was
taken for questioning by
prosecutors.

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Bahrain
questions
opposition chief over
tweets
Dubai (AFP) - Bahrain's
prosecutor said Sunday
he would not press new
charges against Sheikh Ali
Salman, the jailed leader of
the main Shiite opposition
bloc, in connection with
messages
posted
on
Twitter.
The prosecutor general
summoned
Salman
from prison, where he
is serving a sentence for
inciting
disobedience,
for
questioning
about
"violations" posted on his
Twitter account, the official
BNA news agency reported.

Jailed
Bahrain
opposition chief in
trouble over tweets
The jailed leader of
Bahrains main opposition
bloc, Sheikh Ali Salman
who is currently serving
four years for inciting
disobedience, could face
new charges over messages
posted on Twitter.
The
Al-Wefaq
chief
has been referred to
the public prosecution
following
violations
posted on his Twitter
account, the authorities
announced Sunday on
the official BNA news
agency.

It later said that Salman

denied any wrongdoing
and that the prosecutor
decided not to press
charges and ordered him
returned to prison to serve
the rest of his sentence.

The
prosecution
also
ordered an investigation
into who was behind the
tweets which, according to
BNA, "incited" against the
government and called for
demonstrations.
Salman's Al-Wefaq bloc
earlier denounced the
summoning of its chief
by the prosecution, saying
it "violates the Bahraini
constitution and national
law, as well as international
covenants
related
to
freedom of opinion and
expression".

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Al-Wefaq denounced the

move, saying it violates
the Bahraini constitution
and national law, as well
as international covenants
related to freedom of
opinion and expression.
The Shia grouping in the
Shia-majority but Sunniruled Gulf kingdom said
Salmans tweets focused
on the values of peace and
love.
It said they shared quotes
by American civil rights
leader Martin Luther
King about freedom and
justice.
It was unclear whether
Salman
was
himself
tweeting from prison, or
how.

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