Ex-Wefaq chief faces grave charges

Manama : Ali Salman, the former General Secretary of Al Wefaq Isalmic Society, which was dissolved and closed last year by a court order, might spend more time behind bars as he faces more serious charges.

According to Terror Crime Prosecution Chief, Advocate General Ahmed Al Hammadi Ali Salman is facing charges of  “conspiring with foreign states to overthrow the regime of the Kingdom.”

Ali Salman was summoned for interrogation by the Terror Crime Prosecution yesterday for his involvement in conspiring with a senior official in the Qatari government against the Kingdom’s security.

“The accused Ali Salman was summoned and interrogated in the case of seeking and communicating with a foreign state and with those working for its interests to carry out hostile acts against Bahrain and to damage its military, political and economic position and national interests, handing over and disclosing secrets defence to a foreign country,” Advocate General Ahmed Al Hammadi said in a statement yesterday.

Al Hammadi confirmed that 49-year-old Salman, who has been in jail since December, 14, was summoned and will remain detained, as he is already jailed on charges of promoting the change of the regime via offering his thoughts in public events, such as delivering Friday sermons.

However, a telephone conversation between Salman and former Qatari Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani from the phase of the chaotic events in Bahrain 2011 was leaked by the national television here.

The Advocate-General asserted that the Public Prosecution had carried out investigations into the telephone conversations held between both Ali Salman and Hassan Sultan with Qatari officials, and the agreement and coordination between the two sides to carry out hostile acts in Bahrain to damage its military, political, economic and national interests, as well as to undermine its prestige and status abroad.

He affirmed that “investigations revealed the validity of those events and proved that Qatar had engaged in activities targeting many Arab countries, particularly Bahrain, Al-Hammadi said, explaining that Doha had, since 2010, mobilised its media to attack the ruling regime in Bahrain and contacted some elements, including Ali Salman and others, for this purpose”. The Advocate-General asserted that the two sides had held direct meetings in Bahrain and abroad, and with those working for the interests of Qatar in Hizbollah, exchanged messages and held telephone conversations that had been monitored in accordance with legal procedures.

The contacts and meetings, Al-Hammadi explained, had shown the two sides’ shared a willingness to carry out hostile acts in Bahrain and harm its standing through exchanging information about the movement of the military forces entrusted with maintaining security and stability during the 2011 crisis in Bahrain, and discussed hostile acts that could be conducted to face military actions.

The contacts had also revealed Qatar’s attempts to weaken the military actions through refraining from participating in them, and directing its media outlets to support the events unfolding in Bahrain. The suspects appeared in the Qatari media and disseminated information and news aimed at damaging Bahrain’s military, political and economic status and undermining its prestige and respect abroad.

In addition to exchanging intelligence with the Qatari side, the suspects carried out hostile acts through calling for resisting and confronting the authorities using force and violence and through terrorist crimes, Al-Hammadi added.

He affirmed that the reports had proved the responsibility of the suspects in acts of violence and terrorism, as well as in funding terrorists to carry out hostile acts, adding that the defendants had received financial support from Qatar to carry out their activities aimed at harming the status and interests of the kingdom.