A Bahraini appeals court on Monday ramped up the jail sentence of the prisoner of conscience, opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, on alleges of ‘inciting violence’ to nine years from the original four

A Bahraini appeals court on Monday ramped up the jail sentence of the prisoner of conscience, opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, on alleges of ‘inciting violence’ to nine years from the original four, a judicial source said.

Sheikh Salman was convicted in July 2015, drawing condemnation from human rights groups as well as both the United States and Iran.

His Al-Wefaq bloc condemned Monday's verdict as "unacceptable and provocative", and said it "entrenches the exacerbating political crisis" in Bahrain.