Ali Salman

Image

Detained Since: December 28, 2014.

Charges: Inciting a change of government by force, and transferring confidential information to and receiving financial support from Qatar.

Sentence: Life in prison.

Biography: Sheikh Ali Salman is the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq political society in Bahrain and a Twelver Shi'a cleric.

Salman was arrested in December 2014 after leading a protest rally against parliamentary elections in November, which his party boycotted. Salman was arrested on charges including inciting a change of government by force. He denied the charges during his first court hearing on January 28, 2015.

Al-Wefaq was founded in 2002, a year after Bahrain announced political reforms, in which the country became a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and an independent judiciary. Al-Wefaq has long complained that the government politically and economically discriminates against the Shia population.

Updates:

• Congressman Jim McGovern released a public statement calling on Bahrain for his release (May 27, 2016).
• U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power urged for the release of Salman after the court ruled a 9 year jail term against him for his political opinions. His initial sentence was 4 years (June 4, 2016, Bahrain Mirror). 
• Bahrain's high court reduced Salman's sentence overturning a nine-year prison sentence imposed last year (April 13, 2017, Amnesty International).
• Sheikh Ali Salman refused to appear in court November 27 to face charges of contacts with Qatar to “overthrow the regime" (November 28, 2017, The Daily Star).
• On March 8, Bahrain’s Public Prosecution presented its argument in the new case against Sheikh Ali Salman, calling for the “maximum penalty” to be imposed. Salman and his two in absentia codefendants, also leading figures in the Al-Wefaq party, could face capital punishment. The High Criminal Court adjourned the trial to March 22, 2018 in order for the defense to present its case (March 8, 2018, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain).
• Sheikh Ali Salman and two other former leaders of Bahrain’s defunct al-Wefaq opposition party are due to present their defence today in their trial that started on March 8 (March 22, 2018, Foreign Brief).
• Bahrain's  High Criminal Court has adjourned the new trial of Sheikh Ali Salman and his two in absentia codefendants until June 21, when the court is expected to issue its verdict. The Public Prosecution Office has called on the High Criminal Court to hand down the “maximum penalty,” which in this case could be the death sentence (April 24, 2018, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain).
• A Bahraini court acquitted Sheikh Ali Salman of all charges on Thursday, June 21 in his trial for alleged spying for regional rival Qatar. He was found not guilty along with two of his aides, who were tried in absentia (June 21, 2018, Middle East Eye).
• Bahrain's High Court of Appeals announced they are scheduled to issue a ruling on the Public Prosecution’s appeal of Sheikh Ali Salman’s ‘not guilty’ verdict on November 4. If the verdict is upheld, Sheikh Ali Salman is expected to be released in December 2018 (October 15, 2018, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain).
• Sheikh Ali Salman was sentenced to life in prison, overturning previous acquittals on charges of spying for Qatar (November 4, 2018, New York Times).
• The European Union issued a statement urging Bahrain to reconsider Sheikh Ali Salman's life sentence upon appeal (November 5, 2018, European Union External Action).
• Bahrain's supreme court, whose verdicts are final, upheld a life term for Shiite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar (January 28, 2018, FRANCE24).
• The UN Human Rights Office said there were “serious doubts” whether three Bahraini opposition leaders, including Sheikh Ali Salman, were given a fair trial after Bahrain’s highest court upheld this week their life sentences on charges of spying for Qatar (February 1, 2019, Middle East Monitor).
• On the 8th anniversary of the Pearl Uprising, Rep. James P. McGovern inserted remarks into the Congressional Record calling on the government of Bahrain to release Sheikh Ali Salman and other prisoners of conscience and reform policies that risk fostering extremism (February 14, 2019, Congressional Record).
• On December 15, 2022, the European Parliament adopted the "Resolution on the case of human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain," which called for the immediate, unconditional release of Mr. Al-Khawaja, as well as Sheikh Ali Salman, Naji Fateel, Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, and all Bahraini prisoners of conscience (December 15, 2022, European Parliament).
• Ahead of the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly held in Bahrain in March 2023, 22 human rights organizations submitted a joint statement to the parliamentarians, which called for parliamentarians to raise human rights issues in the country with officials during their visit and to push for the release of Sheikh Ali Salman, Naji Fateel, Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, and other prisoners of conscience (March 6, 2023, Human Rights Watch).