Bahrain Mirror: The Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society considered the trial of opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman a political trial that aims to try the project of a collective state, which is based on law and institutions and in which the people are the source of power.

The Court of Appeals held its first hearing yesterday (September 5, 2018) for the trial of Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Sheikh Ali Salman, after he was acquitted, along with two other leaders Sheikh Hasan Sultan and Ali Al-Aswad, of the collusion charge, and decided to adjourn the case until September 26.

Al-Wefaq explained in a statement that Sheikh Salman was falsely accused due to taking part in the Gulf-US talks to resolve the political crisis seven years ago. This trial comes in response to his demands for a democratic change and his rejection of tyranny, authoritarianism and domination in governing the country.

The society reiterated that Sheikh Ali Salman does not represent himself, but represents a huge part of the Bahraini citizens, who stand with him in those demands related to political rights, right to livelihood and fighting corruption, tyranny, theft of wealth and looting of public funds.

Al-Wefaq called for urgently stopping this trial and starting a collective national project, in which the people are the decision-makers and the source of authority.

In the same context, Advocate General Osama Al-Oufi said "The Public Prosecution presented during the session a statement in which it expressed its reasons for challenging the first instance court ruling.The Prosecution statement included the legal errors committed by the first ruling and aspects of its breach of credible legal texts and judicial principles as well as the verdict's shortcomings and its defective causation besides its neglect of evidences and disregarding some of them without reasonable justification."

"The prosecution said in its submitted Memorandum of Objection that the first instance court ruling was erroneous in its construction of the law and shortcoming in its causation and corrupted evidencing," Al-Oufi added.

Arabic Version