Bahrain Mirror: The Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said in a statement after Bahraini official TV aired a recorded phone call between the society's Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman and former Qatari Prime Minister that the regime is not courage enough to air the full conversation. It cut parts of it in order to mislead the local and Gulf public opinion, defame the image of the national opposition and extend the prison term of this senior national leader, stressing that holding calls with the international society and diplomatic parties is the core of the political work.

The statement added "the Qatari official spoke with Sheikh Ali Salman while he was in an official visit to Bahrain, coming from Saudi Arabia, in the context of the Qatari initiative that was made with a direct approval from the King of Bahrain. The call was followed by a meeting held between the Qatari official and the King in his palace in Safiriyah as Qatar was the sponsor of the American initiative presented by the US envoy Jeffrey Feltman, as part of the mediation efforts between the government and opposition. This refutes the regime's claims regarding Al-Wefaq entrance in a conspiracy to overthrow the ruling system. Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry pointed out to this point in paragraph 527, page 189-190."

The society reiterates that the national opposition is not a part of the Gulf crisis with Qatar and that the Qatari initiative is one of those suggested on the opposition since the beginning of the uprising, adding that there were also Kuwaiti, Turkish and Iraqi initiatives as well as those presented by foreign countries. However, admitting the opposition into this Gulf dispute is only to cover the several crisis witnessed in the country.

Al-Wefaq indicated that prosecution evidence are the same innocence evidence. The regime intended to cut the political speeches and abused their contents to change them into prosecution evidence in the malicious trial. The regime uses the same way described by BICI report as inciting media coverage against opposition. It also resorted previously to accusing everyone who seeks to provide help to find a solution to the crisis with conspiracy.

It added that Sheikh Ali Salman is a national figure and he is more national than your fake claims and those responsible for causing the crises and fabricating the misleading narratives. Moreover, he did not kill any innocent people, did not invite the foreign army to reside in his country, did not hinder the chances of national conciliation or complicate the horizon of political solution. This senior national leader will leave the prison with his head held high and his prisoners will face shame.

Al-Wefaq stressed that all these misleading attempts that aim at eliminating the national opposition and popular movement will fail, stressing that the opposition is stick to the demands and visions presented in Manama documents in order to achieve radical transformation towards democracy and put an end to era of tyranny.

Arabic Version