Bahrain opposition chief gets life in jail over Qatar spy case

Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the now-outlawed Al-Wefaq movement, currently serving separate sentence for ‘inciting hatred’ during Shiite protests in the kingdom

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Bahrain’s appeals court sentenced the head of the country’s Shiite opposition movement to jail for life Sunday over charges of spying for rival Gulf state Qatar, a judicial source said.

Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the now-outlawed Al-Wefaq movement, had been acquitted by the high criminal court in June, a verdict the public prosecution appealed.

The latest ruling on Sunday can also be appealed.

Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, severed all ties with Qatar in 2017, banning their citizens from travel to or communication with the emirate over what they say are Doha’s ties to both Iran and radical Islamist groups.

Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence in a separate case — “inciting hatred” in the kingdom, which has seen mainly Shiite protests against the Sunni monarchy since 2011.

In November, Salman and two other members of Al-Wefaq were charged with working for Qatari intelligence with the aim of overthrowing the Bahraini government.

File: A police armored vehicle splattered with paint bombs fires tear gas toward Bahraini anti-government protesters during clashes in Sitra, Bahrain, on Sunday, February 14, 2016. (Hasan Jamali/AP)

King Hamad has announced parliamentary elections on November 24 in Bahrain. Members of dissolved opposition parties, including Al-Wefaq and the secular Al-Waad group, are banned from running.

The Sunni-ruled Gulf state has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

Opposition movements have been outlawed and hundreds of dissidents have been imprisoned — with many stripped of their nationality.

Bahrain last year ratified a constitutional amendment granting military courts the authority to try civilians charged with terrorism, a term that is loosely defined by the Bahraini penal code.

In June, the kingdom amended its law on political rights, prohibiting “leaders and members of political associations dissolved for violating the kingdom’s constitution or its laws” from running in legislative elections.

Bahrain, a key ally of the United States and home to the US Fifth Fleet, accuses Shiite Iran of provoking unrest in the kingdom. Iran denies the allegations.

The United Nations and rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized the Bahraini monarchy over its treatment of protesters.