Alwaght- Bahraini regime indicted a renowned opposition figure over speaking to the AP news agency about “whitewashing” crackdowns in the county.
The Al Khalifa regime has charged Ebrahim Sharif of the Waad party of “inciting hatred" against Manama after his interview with The Associated Press during a visit by Britain's Prince Charles to the Persian Gulf country.
During the interview he had said the visit by the British royal could lead to a “whitewash” of ongoing crackdown against the opposition groups in the country.
He also suggested that the regime should agree on a power-sharing system with political parties to counter the worsening financial pressure resulting from low oil prices.
On Sunday, Bahrain's public prosecution released a statement announcing that it had questioned an unnamed person over recent remarks made to the foreign press.
"The public prosecution ordered his release after charging him with openly inciting hatred of the political system in Bahrain and with contempt," noted the statement.
Following the statement, the Waad party and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy confirmed that the unnamed person had been Sharif.
"Prince Charles was criticized for participating in a blatant PR exercise for the Bahraini regime. Now in connection to his visit, Bahrain is prosecuting Ebrahim Sharif," said the rights’ group’s spokesman Sayed Alwadaei.
Manama has spared no effort to clamp down on the dissent and rights activists. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama government in its crackdown.
