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Update: Bahrain court extends opposition leader's 4-year jail term to 9

Xinhua, May 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Bahrainian appeals court on Monday sentenced the country's top opposition leader, Shaikh Ali Salman, to nine years in prison, an extension from the original four-year sentence.

The verdict for Salman, secretary general of the main opposition group, Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, was announced at a hearing attended by rights activists, diplomats and other officials, amid tight security.

"Shaikh Ali Salman has been sentenced by the High Criminal Appeals Court for a nine year jail term, which the society feels is unacceptable," Al Wefaq said in a statement following the court verdict.

Salman was last sentenced in June 2015 to four years in prison for spreading sectarian hate and insulting a government body. He had appealed against the sentence.

The sentence on Monday can be further appealed by the Salman's defense team.

Salman's arrest on Dec. 28, 2014, drew condemnation from the United States and Iran, as well as human rights groups, and triggered demonstrations across the kingdom. Endit