Bahrain Mirror: A Bahraini court presided over by Judge Ebrahim Al-Zayed commenced the trial of the prominent opposition leader, Ebrahim Sharif, and decided in its first hearing to adjourn the case until October 12, while Sharif remains in custody so that the defence team would look into the case papers.

During Sharif's first hearing, he denied the charges brought against him and considered that they are based on "assumptions" and an attempt to "try intentions," as his lawyer Abdullah Al-Shamlawi reported.

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Farida Ghulam, Ebrahim Sharif's wife, said that she attended the first hearing during which only two family members were allowed into the courtroom. The trial started at 11 A.M. after Judge Ebrahim Al-Zayed arrived and started to recount the charges brought against Ebrahim Sharif.

Ghulam posted Tweets on her personal account mentioning details of the trial, as she said that the lawyers asked the judge to allow Sharif to speak. Hence, Sharif spoke for 5 minutes and refuted all the retaliatory charges brought against him, stressing on his initial and well-known stance against violence. Sharif pointed out that his statements announced in the speech over which he is being tried are the same ones he had previously mentioned in an interview with one of the local newspapers.

Sharif reiterated that the solution to the country's crisis is political, warning of the consequences of the widespread economic crisis that will affect everyone.

He also stressed in his statement before the court that he was asked to sign a commitment when he was released, yet he refused to do so, since there are no binding legal articles with an unconditional royal pardon. He considered this as evidence that "one of the officers has personal enmity towards him." Sharif further highlighted that his trial is a trial based on presumptions rather than proofs and evidence and is an attempt to try the conscience and intentions.

Ghulam concluded her tweets by saying that a number of embassy representatives "including the US and British embassies" and representatives of some news agencies attended the trial.

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— Ãã ÔÑíÝ (@Farida_Ghulam) August 24, 2015

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