Bahrain opposition group appeals against dissolution

Al Wefaq asks Court of Cassation to overturn ruling that it should be disbanded for 'harbouring terrorism'.

Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition group has appealed against a court ruling that it should be dissolved over terrorism-related charges, a judicial official said on Sunday.

“Al Wefaq has filed an appeal to the Court of Cassation” against its dissolution and the seizure of its assets.

A court ordered the group’s dissolution in July for “harbouring terrorism”, inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife.

The decision, upheld by an appeals court in September, drew strong criticism from UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

In mid-October, a court ordered that Al Wefaq’s confiscated assets be auctioned on October 26, although this was later postponed to November 6.

Al Wefaq’s leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been behind bars since December 2014 on charges of inciting hatred and calling for forceful regime change.

But on October 17, Bahrain’s cassation court overturned his nine-year jail sentence and ordered a retrial.

His first hearing at the appeals court is set for November 6, a judicial source said.

Al Wefaq was the largest group in parliament before its lawmakers resigned en masse in protest at the crushing of demonstrations in 2011 calling for an elected government.

The group has called for Bahrain to become a constitutional monarchy.

In June, the authorities stripped Shiite spiritual leader Sheikh Issa Qassem, 75, of his nationality for “encouraging sectarianism and violence” and serving “foreign interests” – an allusion to Iran.

Manama regularly accuses Iran of interfering in its affairs – something Tehran denies.

* Agence France-Presse