Bahrain Clerics Protest Sheikh Salman’s Arrest

Local Editor

Dozens of clerics demonstrated in Bahrain on Monday against the detention of opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman by al-Khalifa authorities in the small but strategic Gulf state.

News of the arrest of the al-Wefaq leader drew hundreds of his supporters onto the streets of villages outside the capital Manama late on Sunday, prompting clashes with security forces.

Police fired tear gas and birdshot to disperse the protesters, many of whom had gathered in Salman's home village of Bilad al-Qadeem, witnesses said.

The white-turbaned clerics gathered in Imam al-Sadeq mosque in al-Guful village, brandishing photographs of the detained opposition leader, pictures posted on al-Wefaq's Twitter account showed.

The party has demanded Salman's immediate release, calling his detention "a dangerous adventure that will complicate the political situation in Bahrain".
The Gulf kingdom, which is ruled by al-Khalifa dynasty, has been gripped by sporadic violence ever since the authorities crushed month-long protests led by al-Wefaq in 2011.

Al-Wefaq's announcement that it would boycott a November parliamentary election it dismissed as a farce was followed by a court order banning the party in late October.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about Salman's whereabouts since summoning him for questioning on Sunday about "violating certain aspects of the law".

But Salman's lawyer, Abdullah al-Shamlan, tweeted that his client had been arrested and accused of "inciting hatred against the regime and calling for its overthrow by force".

He said he had not been allowed to attend Salman's questioning.
Salman was re-elected as party leader on Friday and marked the occasion by leading a protest march outside the capital.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team