Bahrain Mirror: Attorney General Haroon Al-Zayani announced that the appeal hearing of the Secretary-General of one of Bahrain's political societies (Sheikh Ali Salman) has begun on Tuesday (September 15, 2015) following a conviction of inciting non-compliance with the law, publicly inciting hatred - an act which had disturbed public peace - and insulting a statutory body.

In the framework of its investigations, the public prosecution looked into recordings of public speeches and sermons attributed to the defendant. He was also questioned in the presence of four lawyers. The prosecution confronted him with these recordings that included public call not to abide by the rules with regards to places of protests and urging the Olama Islamic Council to proceed in its activities, as well as incitement against naturalized Bahraini citizens, accusing them of disloyalty and terrorist acts.

Al-Zayani further stated that Sheikh Ali Salman said that "while being abroad, he met with groups that expressed their willingness to support the Bahraini movement and provide it with arms. The defendant confessed that he delivered all the speeches and public statements, and accordingly he was sentenced to a 4-year jail term over the charges brought against him.

The defendant was acquitted of one charge. The defendant appealed the verdict and so did the prosecution appeal the court's decision to acquit the defendant of the charge of promoting political change using illegal forceful means and threats."

The Attorney General concluded his statement by saying that "the defendant attended the hearing and his legal team were present throughout the process. The Public Prosecution's representative requested that the defendant be convicted of the acquitted charge of promoting political change using illegal forceful means. The Appeals Court set the next appeal hearing for 14 October 2015,"

Arabic Issue