Shiite Opposition Leader Loses Appeal

Shiite opposition leader in Bahrain Sheikh Ali Salman on Monday lost his appeal as the supreme court upheld its decision.

Salman was sentenced to life imprisonment for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, the public prosecutor said.

According to reports, Salman, who headed the Shiite Al-Wefaq group, was convicted by an appeals court in November in a ruling that rights groups called a travesty.

However, the supreme court confirmed the verdict against Salman and two of his aides for “spying for a foreign state in order to… overthrow the government,” according to a statement released by public prosecutor Osama al-Awfi.

Bahrain in 2017 cut all ties with Qatar as part of a Saudi-led boycott in response to what Riyadh and its allies say are Doha’s policies on Iran and Islamist groups.

A tiny Gulf archipelago, allied with the US and located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, Bahrain has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

Ruled for more than two centuries by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, Bahrain has a majority Shiite Muslim population according to unofficial estimates contested by the government.

Bahraini authorities accuse Tehran of inciting anti-government rallies and have said jailed protesters have been trained in and armed by Iran, which denies the allegations.