Dubai: The extended family of a naturalised Qatari held by Bahrain’s authorities has called for his release.
Salah Mohammad Al Jalahma was arrested in Bahrain on Thursday as he was about to leave the country and remanded in custody for one week pending an investigation into allegations he was inciting hatred of the political regime.
Al Jalahma reportedly gave up his Bahraini nationality to become a Qatari citizen. The prosecution said that he encouraged members of his family to do the same and move out of Bahrain to settle in Qatar.
The public prosecution in Bahrain said that Al Jalahma was encouraging Bahrainis to emigrate from the kingdom.
However, both his family in the Gulf and his lawyers insisted he was innocent and that there were no legal grounds for his detention or evidence supporting the charges.
“We were surprised by the news that our son, Salah Bin Mohammad Al Jalahma, was arrested on Thursday,” the family said in a statement. “He was investigated by the public prosecution on Saturday and we were surprised that the charges were inciting the hatred of the regime. Our family categorically denies this claim. Our son Salah never incited hatred for the regime, either before or after he was granted the Qatari nationality. He never incited hating the political regime or the authorities in Bahrain under any form,” the statement said.
Al Jalahma, one of the largest tribes in the Arabian Gulf, is well established in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and eastern Saudi Arabia.
Members of the tribe reportedly addressed a letter to Bahrain’s ambassador to Qatar, calling for his release.
Bahrain this year accused Qatar of luring Sunni Arab families to take up Qatari nationality and settle in Qatar. The charge is part of a diplomatic spat that has pitted Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar over approaches to domestic and regional issues.
In August, Manama stressed again that Qatar had targeted specific families without any consideration for the provisions of the law on citizenship in Bahrain and warned its citizens against breaking it and urging them to be committed to its provisions to avoid legal problems.
