MANAMA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain's High Criminal Court on Wednesday formally charged the country's top opposition leader for conspiring with Qatar.
The now dissolved Al Wefaq National Islamic Society's secretary general Sheikh Ali Salman has been charged in connection with a phone conversation he had with the former Prime Minister of Qatar in 2011, the Public Prosecution confirmed in a statement.
Details of a 2011 phone conversation between Salman and Qatar's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani were broadcast by Bahrain Television on Aug. 16.
It exposed the dialogue between Qatar and the Bahraini opposition movement in 2011.
Advocate General Ahmed Al Hammadi said on Wednesday that the Public Prosecution remanded the cleric in custody pending further investigation into the case, and the sentence will be served after he completes his current jail term of four years.
Ali Salman was arrested in 2014 and convicted of charges including trying to overthrow the government, inciting others to break the law and spreading sectarianism.
"Investigations revealed that Qatar had engaged in activities targeting many Arab countries, particularly Bahrain," Hammadi said in a statement.
He explained that Doha since 2010 has mobilized its media to attack the ruling regime in Bahrain and contacted some elements, including Ali Salman and others, for this purpose.
The contacts and meetings, Hammadi stressed, had shown the two sides shared a willingness to carry out hostile acts in Bahrain and exchange information about the movement of the military forces during the 2011 crisis in Bahrain.
He said Salman was quizzed on Wednesday in the presence of his lawyer, and was presented with evidence documents of the charges levelled against him.
A Bahraini court dissolved Al Wefaq in 2016 for inciting terrorism and promoting a coup.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt on June 5 severed their diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar after accusing it of supporting extremists and funding terrorism.
Bahrain closed its land, air and sea borders with Qatar and has also revoked Qatar Airways' licence to operate here.
