Bahrain Mirror: The Fourth High Criminal Court adjourned on Thursday (January 4, 2018) the trial of opposition leader and Al-Wefaq Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman and two Al-Wefaq leaders Sheikh Hassan Sultan and Ali Al-Aswad over charge of "communicating with Qatar" until January 25.

Al-Ayam newspaper said that the Fourth High Criminal Court listened to the two attesting witnesses in the case. The first witness said that Salman, Sultan and Al-Aswad were delivering incorrect information to Qatar about the army, National Guard, Interior Ministry and National Security Agency, adding that Ali Al-Aswad received large amounts of money from Qatar based on directions from Sheikh Ali Salman.

The witness also claimed that meetings were held between Sheikh Ali Salman and chairman of the board of Al-Jazeera Hamad bin Thamer. He further stated that Ali Al-Aswad traveled to Lebanon and Qatar to meet Hezbollah and Qatari leaders during 2011 incidents based on Salman's instructions to reveal some information about Bahrain's internal situation and play his role as a mediator between Salman and Hamad bin Thamer. The witness indicated that these calls continued during the period between 2009-2012.

Meanwhile, the second witness, chairman of Al-Wasat Arab Islamic Democratic Society Abdullah Al-Huwayhi, stated that Sheikh Ali Salman concluded a meeting for the political societies during the crisis saying that he will request protection from foreign countries and Iran.

Sheikh Ali Salman and the two Al-Wefaq leaders Sheikh Hassan Sultan and Ali Al-Aswad are prosecuted over charge of "colluding with Qatar" based on calls with Qatari leaders in February and March 2011, after a US-Qatari initiative to contain the protests in the country.

Arabic Version