Hizbullah Slams Bahrain Dissidents' Jail Sentences, Urges Dialogue

Hizbullah on Monday condemned a Bahraini court's confirmation of life sentences against opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman and ex-MPs Ali al-Aswad and Hassan Sultan, as it stressed that “dialogue is the only way to resolve” the kingdom's disputes.

“The ruling is an escalation of the practices of injustice and tyranny against the honorable Bahraini people,” Hizbullah said in a statement.

“Instead of rectifying its mistakes, the Bahraini regime is resorting to further recklessness and political malice against Bahraini citizens calling for their rights,” it added.

“The court's false accusations against Sheikh Salman and his two associates will not weaken the free people of Bahrain but will rather increase their firmness and determination to cling to their legitimate rights and noble goals,” Hizbullah said.

The Iran-backed party also emphasized that “the real gateway for resolving the crisis in Bahrain begins by the release of political prisoners, the halt of repression activities against citizens and the adoption of the approach of dialogue as the only way to resolve the current problems away from the dictations of the neighboring countries.”

Earlier on Monday, Bahrain's supreme court upheld a life sentence for Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, a decision his party slammed as "political revenge."

Salman, who headed the Shiite al-Wefaq group, was convicted by an appeals court in November in a ruling that rights groups called a travesty.

The supreme court confirmed the verdict against Salman and two of his aides for "spying for a foreign state in order to... overthrow the government," according to a statement released by public prosecutor Osama al-Awfi.

Bahrain in 2017 cut all ties with Qatar as part of a Saudi-led boycott in response to what Riyadh and its allies say are Doha's policies on Iran and Islamist groups.

A tiny Gulf archipelago, allied with the U.S. and located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, the kingdom of Bahrain has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding an elected prime minister.

Hundreds of activists have since been jailed and some stripped of citizenship over what the government says is "terrorism" linked to Iran. Human rights groups have frequently said cases against activists in Bahrain -- men and women, religious and secular -- fail to meet the basic standards of fair trials.

Salman's opposition group, Al-Wefaq, was dissolved by court order in 2016. The cleric is currently serving a four-year sentence in a separate case on charges of "inciting hatred" in the kingdom.