Bahrain postpones trial of opposition leader to March 25

Bahrain's Upper Criminal Court decided Wednesday to postpone the trial of a high profile opposition leader until next month.

The trial of Shaikh Ali Salman, secretary-general of the main opposition group, Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, will now be heard March 25, Xinhua news agency reported citing a statement by Al Wefaq.

Salman, who was arrested December 28, will remain in police custody.

He has been accused of plotting the overthrow of the government by force, inciting violence against the kingdom and supporting attacks that killed 14 policemen.

The public prosecution said in January that Salman had issued multiple calls to his supporters to deploy military tactics to overthrow the government.

Al Wefaq has denied the charges and called for the release of Salman from custody.

Lawmakers from Al Wefaq, which occupied 17 seats in the 40-seat parliament in 2006 and 18 seats in 2010, resigned en masse in February 2011 amid anti-government protests. The opposition group also boycotted the 2014 parliamentary and municipal elections.