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Bahrain: Hearing Session on Intelligence Links with Qatar Deferred

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
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Bahrain: Hearing Session on Intelligence Links with Qatar Deferred

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA

Bahrain’s judiciary postponed the first trial session of Ali Salman, the jailed Secretary-General of the banned Al Wefaq movement, Ali Mahdi al-Aswad, and Ali Gomaa Sultan, who was added to the terror lists announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The three defendants were accused of communicating with Qatar to carry out terrorist acts that harm Bahrain's interests, security and stability.

Salman refused to attend the hearing on Monday, thus it has been deferred to Wednesday while Sultan and Aswad have been tried in absentia after they fled the country.

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi stated that the High Criminal Court held on November 27 its first session in the trial of the three defendants on charges of intelligence links with the State of Qatar.

The three suspects were referred by the Public Prosecutor to the court for intelligence contacts with a foreign state to carry out subversive acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain in order to undermine its political and economic status and its national interests and topple the regime, Oufi explained.

They were also charged with revealing defense secrets to a foreign country, accepting money from a foreign state for divulging military secrets and information pertaining to the internal situation in the Kingdom, disseminating false information and inciting allegations abroad in order to weaken financial trust in the Kingdom and undermine its prestige.

On August 16, Bahrain revealed a phone call between Sheikh Haman bin Jassem Al Thani and Ali Salman during the incidents in Bahrain that took place in the period from February 14 until March 16, 2011.

It also disclosed earlier on August 7 that Qatar used to finance terrorist acts in Bahrain by transferring money from the Qatari side to member of Al Wefaq Hassan Issa, a fund that the Bahraini security services confirm was used in the terrorist bombing that killed two security men and wounded eight others in July 2015.

Salman has been behind bars since 2014 serving a nine-year sentence for inciting hatred.

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Arab World

Trump Opposes Israeli Annexation of West Bank

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Trump Opposes Israeli Annexation of West Bank

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A White House official on Monday reiterated US President Donald Trump's opposition toward Israel annexing the West Bank.

"A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region," the official said.

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

Saudi Arabia and seven other Muslim countries on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements on the occupied Palestinian territory.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Arab World

Sudan Returns to East African Bloc After Two Years

A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Sudan Returns to East African Bloc After Two Years

A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)

Sudan on Monday announced it was returning to east African bloc IGAD, two years after freezing its membership over a decision to invite rival paramilitary chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to a summit.

"The government of the Republic of Sudan will resume its full activity in the membership" in the Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sudan had suspended its membership in January 2024 after the bloc invited the head of rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to a summit in Uganda to discuss the country's brutal conflict.

The RSF has been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The foreign ministry cited a statement by IGAD which reaffirmed "its full recognition of Sudan's sovereignty and the unity of its lands and people" and pledged "non-interference in member states' internal affairs".

The decision to rejoin IGAD follows a meeting in January between the bloc's executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, and Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris.

Following the meeting, the bloc issued a statement saying it "condemns all forms of violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and reaffirms its full support for the unity and sovereignty of the Republic of the Sudan, as well as its existing national institutions".

The nearly three-year conflict has effectively split Sudan between army-controlled areas in the north, east and center, and those controlled by the paramilitaries in the west and parts of the south.

The RSF has also formed a rival parallel administration in Nyala, the South Darfur state capital, but it has received no international recognition.

IGAD on Monday welcomed Sudan's decision to return, describing it as "a reaffirmation of regional solidarity and collective commitment to peace, stability, and cooperation across the region".

Arab World

EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.