DUBAI - Bahrain opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman was remanded in custody Tuesday on charges including seeking regime change, prompting his group to decry "tyrannical rule" in the Gulf kingdom.
Salman, head of the Shiite movement Al-Wefaq, was charged on Monday by authorities in the tiny Sunni-ruled nation, where the opposition boycotted a November parliamentary election that it dismissed as a farce.
The prosecution said Tuesday that the cleric would remain in custody for seven days pending an investigation.
Al-Wefaq swiftly denounced his detention, saying it "entrenches the tyrannical rule in Bahrain and closes all doors for a political solution."
"This behaviour is dangerous and reflects the magnitude of the political crisis between the regime and the people, and shows that Bahrain needs a political plan under which power would be in the hands of the people," it said.
Salman's arrest on Sunday triggered clashes between police and protesters in Shiite villages outside the capital Manama, during which security forces fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
It came after Salman was re-elected as party leader on Friday.
The prosecution said Monday that Salman had been charged with "promoting regime change by force, threats and illegal means and of insulting the interior ministry publicly."
Prosecutor Nayef Mahmud said in a statement that Salman was also accused of inciting people to break the law and of "hatred towards a segment of the people", an allusion to Sunni Muslims who are a minority in the Shiite-majority kingdom.
The prosecutor said police also suspect Salman of calling for foreign interference by "urging super powers to intervene in Bahrain to support him in his bid to change the regime".
The prosecution continued questioning Salman on Tuesday and presented him with "recordings of his incitements, which justified violence and threats," Mahmud said.
The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs meanwhile warned Al-Wefaq against using mosques and religion for political purposes.
The ministry said in a statement that Al-Wefaq's "implication of clerics in politics is a dangerous deviation from the principles of political work."
It urged Al-Wefaq to "respect the law".
Bahrain has been gripped by sporadic violence since the authorities crushed month-long protests led by Al-Wefaq in 2011.
At least 89 people have been killed since then in clashes with security forces, and hundreds have been arrested and put on trial, human rights groups say.
Strategically located just across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, and Britain announced plans earlier this month to build a naval base of its own there.
The authorities have rejected Al-Wefaq's demand for an elected prime minister to replace the current government dominated by the ruling royal family.
After Al-Wefaq announced that it would boycott the November election, a court banned the movement from activities for three months for violating the law on associations.
AFP
