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Iran slams Bahrain for jailing Shiite opposition leader

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the sentencing of a Shiite opposition leader to four years in prison by a Bahraini court.

"It is earnestly expected that the (Bahraini opposition) groups, which raise their demands peacefully, be treated fair and reasonably," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a statement in its website.

Iran urges the release of Shaikh Ali Salman, the secretary general of Bahrain's Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, she said, adding that security approaches do not help settlement of political problems in Bahrain.

Dialogue with moderate groups will secure peace in the country and will help resolve the political and social problems in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, she added.

Shaikh Ali Salman was arrested last December in connection with speeches that were deemed by authorities to have incited hatred and disobedience in the country.

The Higher Criminal Court of Bahrain sentenced him to four year imprisonment on Tuesday for what it said "inciting hatred and non-compliance with the law and insulting a public institution."

The Gulf Cooperation Council accused Iran of interference in Bahrain's internal affairs. Endit