Bahrain’s High Criminal Court has acquitted Ali Salman, the head of the now dissolved Al-Wefaq group, in his trial for spying for Qatar.
Bahraini attorney general Ousama al-Awfi said Thursday he would appeal the verdict in a statement released by the public prosecutor's office.
Salman was found not guilty along with two of his aides, who were tried in absentia, a judicial source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.
In November, the prosecution had charged Salman and his aides, former MPs Hassan Sultan and Ali Alaswad who live in London, of communicating with a foreign state (in reference to Qatar) to commit acts hostile to the state of Bahrain .
Salman, 52, has been behind bars since 2014 serving a four-year jail sentence on charges of inciting hatred.
Al-Wefaq, one of Bahrain’s largest opposition groups, was dissolved by court order in 2016.
On June 11, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa banned members of dissolved opposition parties from running for election, the official BNA news agency said.
Bahrain is gearing up for the election of its 40-member parliament this autumn.
