The Bahraini regime will auction the confiscated assets of the prominent opposition group, al-Wefaq, in the Gulf kingdom after it was dissolved over alleged “terrorism-related charges”, a judicial source said Saturday.
An administrative court on Thursday ordered the auctioning of Al-Wefaq’s assets to be held on October 26, the source said.
The group’s dissolution in July drew strong criticism from UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Bahrain’s allies in Washington and London, as well as Iran.
After the latest court decision, security forces seized Al-Wefaq’s assets including its headquarters outside Manama and two other offices in villages, the source said.
The accusations that led to the ban — upheld by an appeals court last month — included “harboring terrorism”, inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife in the Shiite-majority country.
Al-Wefaq’s leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been behind bars since December 2014 on charges of “inciting hatred and calling for forceful regime change.”
On Monday, Bahrain’s cassation court overturned his nine-year jail sentence and ordered a retrial.
Al-Wefaq was the largest group in parliament before its lawmakers resigned en masse in protest at the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011 calling for an elected government.
Source: AFP
