Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The Bahraini court of appeals presided over by judge Isa Al-Ka'abi held the first hearing of the trial of the Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Sheikh Ali Salman, and decided to adjourn it until October 14 for pleading.

At the beginning of the hearing, the Public Prosecution demanded to cancel the acquittal verdict handed down to Sheikh Ali Salman over his first charge (overthrow the regime by force), issue the harshest penalty against him over all the charges and deny his release. Meanwhile, Sheikh Salman's defence panel demanded the court to listen to its pleading that wasn't allowed to be entered in the court of first instance, inquired about the false testimony case that it brought against the attesting witness (Ministry of Interior employee) and demanded Salman's release under any guarantee specified by the court.

The court decided to adjourn Salman's appeal until October 14 and gave the defence panel a copy of the May 20th, 2015 hearing minutes and a memorandum presented by the prosecution in the same hearing, in addition to the sentence minutes of May 16, 2015.

In an exclusive statement obtained by Bahrain Mirror, Aliaa Radhi, Sheikh Ali Salman's wife, said that "heavy security accompanied the opposition leader to court. He arrived handcuffed and wearing a prison uniform. They only unlocked the cuffs when he entered the courtroom and was seated behind a glass barrier."

"The judge did not return to the court to announce the verdict, he sent someone else to deliver the statement on his behalf. After announcing the decision, they handcuffed him again and he was quickly taken out of the courtroom back to Jaw Central Prison," she added.

It is noteworthy that the judge Isa Al-Ka'abi who presided over Sheikh Salman's appeals court hearing has acquitted and commuted sentences issued against the killers of martyrs "Karim Fakhrawi, Zakariya Al-Ashri, Isa Saqr, Fadhel Al-Matrouk and Hani Abdulaziz."

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