AP: Bahraini Opposition Leader Released After 4 Years
2015-06-20 - 4:30 p
AP: A top Bahraini opposition leader was released Friday after more than four years in prison for his role in protests calling for reform in the Gulf kingdom.
The WAAD (National Democratic Action Society) group confirmed on its official Twitter account that Ibrahim Sharif was released Friday. Sharif was sentenced in June 2011 to five years in prison for plotting to overthrow Bahrain's 200-year-old monarchy.
Sharif was one of 20 prominent pro-democracy activists calling for political reforms who were convicted by a military-led tribunal after the government cracked down on them. He was leading WAAD at the time of his arrest in March 2011.
Bahrain's majority Shiites, inspired by Arab Spring protests elsewhere, launched an uprising seeking to limit the wide-ranging powers of the ruling Sunni dynasty. The strategic island nation is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
Brian Dooley, a program director with Human Rights First, applauded the release.
"More than four years after President Obama called for the release of peaceful opposition leaders in Bahrain Ebrahim Sharif is finally out," he said in a statement. "This is a long overdue move, and he should never have been jailed in the first place."
- 2024-04-07Ayatollah Qassim: Quds Day Teaches Normalizers We're a Nation of Wide-ranging Resistance and Deep Faith in Our Cause
- 2024-04-06Marches in Bahrain Commemorating International Quds Day
- 2024-04-05Political Prisoners' Families to Ombudsman and HR Institute: We Demand Immediate, Unconditional Freedom for Our Sons Who Are Dying Slowly
- 2024-04-05Massive March in Manama in Preparation for International Quds Day Condemns Normalization with Occupation
- 2024-03-26Political Societies in Bahrain, Kuwaiti Progressive Movement, Arab Parties Conference Condemn Ibrahim Sharif's Arrest, Demand his Release