Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's First High Court of Appeals held its fifth hearing of the Bahraini detained opposition leader and Al-Wefaq Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman's trial on January 14, 2016 and is to issue its verdict on March 30.

During the hearing, Sheikh Salman entered his plea in which he urged the King [of Bahrain] to launch an initiative to achieve a democratic constitutional formula, calling for a genuine national dialogue to prevent the negative impact of regional tensions on Bahrain.

"For the sake of my beloved homeland and people, and its interests and for achieving democracy, equality and a fair distribution of the country's resources; I owe this people continuing the peaceful struggle which I am determined to carry on, no matter how big the challenges are. I will stick to these demands until our dream of a stable and safe country comes true in the light of mutual respect between the people and the rulers", he added, explaining thoroughly the basics of a constitutional monarchy and the demands of the opposition before the court.

He also called on "the international community represented by the UN, its Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the democratic states of the EU and the US as well as organizations to lend a helping hand so that Bahrain would be able to shift to a real democracy in accordance with international standards based on the universal rights and covenants."

Commenting on the trial of its Secretary-General, Al-Wefaq Society said that over the period of appeal "Sheikh Salman's defense team could not show footage of his speeches which the accusations against him were based on. His lawyers are confident that these videos are proof of his innocence", considering his continued detention to be a "complication added to the political situation in Bahrain, what is in need of a courageous step that would pave the way for a genuine and meaningful dialogue to reach an inclusive political resolution."

Al-Wefaq demanded in its statement to "answer the calls of many national and international organizations, including the United Nations, as well as influential foreign offices and figures, to release its Secretary General. The majority of the Bahrainis are demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Ali Salman and dropping all charges against him", further stressing that Salman's continued detention is "unjustified".

During the hearing, the Public Prosecution objected to the defense pleading describing it as "political", adding that "Bahrain's current political system is a constitutional monarchy."

The Public Prosecution's representative, Attorney-General Osama Aloufi said that Sheikh Ali Salman "attempted to consolidate false information in the minds of average people by stating that Bahrain's political system is not a constitutional monarchy when he demanded to rebel against the regime and protest in order to establish a constitutional monarchy", considering Salman's speech as evidence proving he promoted the "change of the political system in the country."

Arabic Issue