Bahrain’s top court rejected on Monday an appeal by the country’s main opposition group Al-Wefaq against its dissolution, a judicial source said.
The court of cassation “denied the appeal against the dissolution of Al-Wefaq and the seizure of its assets,” the source said.
The decision comes three months after the Gulf kingdom’s largest Shiite formation appealed a court order to dissolve it over charges of “inciting violence, encouraging demonstrations and harboring terrorism.”
The court ruling drew strong criticism from the United Nations as well as international human rights groups.
Al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman has been behind bars since 2014 after being convicted of “inciting hatred.”
Al-Wefaq was the largest group in parliament before its lawmakers resigned en masse in protest at the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters who were demanding reforms in 2011.
The Shiite majority in Bahrain, which has been ruled by the Al-Khalifa dynasty for more than two centuries, has long complained of marginalization and the country has been rocked by sporadic unrest since 2011.
Source: AFP
