Saturday, Apr 27, 2024
Advertisement
Premium

Bahrain’s opposition leader, Ibrahim Sharif released from prison after 4 years

Sharif was sentenced to to five years imprisonment in June 2011 for plotting to overthrow Bahrain's 200-year-old monarchy.

bahrain, bahrain leader, bahrain oppsition leader, Ibrahim Sharif, Bahrain king, Bahrain leader Ibrahim Sharif,  Bahrain leader Ibrahim Shareef, Bahrain monarchy, 2011 Bahrain coup, Bahrain news, Gulf news, Middle east news, world news, latest news, international news Ebrahim Sharif (L), president of the secular Al Waad Society (National Democratic Action Society), is greeted by friends after being released from jail, at his residence in Manama, Bahrain June 20, 2015. Sharif was pardoned by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa in the early hours of Saturday. (Source: Reuters)

A top Bahraini opposition leader was released 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 yesterday. 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.

Advertisement

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 US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Brian Dooley, a program director with Human Rights First, applauded the release.

Festive offer

“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.”

First uploaded on: 20-06-2015 at 09:02 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close