Alwaght- Fresh anti-regime protests have been held in Bahrain to demand the immediate and unconditional release of leading opposition figure Sheikh Ali Salman and other political activists.
Peaceful demonstrators held a rally in the northwestern village of Diraz, near the capital Manama after the weekly Friday prayers, and demanded the release of Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
Other protests marches were also held in the village of Musalla, located west of the capital, and in Bilad al-Qadim, a suburb of Manama.
Al Khalifa regime forces used teargas and stun grenades to disperse the peaceful protesters.
The protesters also demanded political reforms and the release of all incarcerated political prisoners in the tiny Persian Gulf Arab state.
Sheikh Salman was arrested on December 28, 2014, on charges of seeking regime change and collaborating with foreign powers. Al-Wefaq has rejected the charges as malicious and outright lies.
The detention of the Bahraini opposition leader was followed by massive condemnations both locally and internationally amid calls for his immediate release.
On June 16, a Bahraini court sentenced Salman to four years in prison on charges such as insulting the Bahraini Interior Ministry and inciting others to break the law. He was acquitted of seeking regime change.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) renewed calls on the Manama regime to immediately release the al-Wefaq leader.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous marches on the streets of Bahrain, calling for Al-Khalifa family to leave power.
Since then many Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others were injured or arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests.