Bahrain opposition leaders who spied for Qatar to be tried

CAIRO – 12 November 2017: Bahrain’s public prosecutor referred the case in which Ali Salman, Hassan Sultan, and Ali Mahdi, the leaders of the country’s banned main opposition party, are accused of spying for Qatar, to the High Criminal Court.

Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary-general of al-Wefaq party, and Sheikh Hassan Sultan are accused of colluding with Qatar to “incite violence” in Bahrain and damage its national interests and prestige, according to a statement by the state news agency BNA.

The three leaders are accused of transferring confidential information in exchange for receiving financial support from Qatar.

The state-run Bahrain Television aired a report stating that Qatar was behind the anti-government protests that have threatened the kingdom for the past six years.

On June 5, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, hurling allegations that the state supports terrorism. Ports and airspaces were cut off to Qatari vessels.

Since then, Kuwait has played the role of mediator to put an end to this rift. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held several meetings with the disputed parties, but the discussions have not yet led to a settlement.

The Arab countries listed 13 demands to be met by Qatar, including severing ties with terrorist groups, closing down the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite channel, downgrading ties with arch-rival Iran and the closure of the Turkish air base in Qatar.