Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed () is an opposition political activist in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, currently serving as the General Secretary of the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

National Democratic Action Society The National Democratic Labour Action Society – Wa'ad (, NDAS) is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. History and profile It emerged from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, a Marxist-Leninist armed opposition movement ...

(Wa'ad).Divided Islamists face poll erosion in Bahrain

The National (Abu Dhabi) ''The National'' is a UAE state-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. According to the ''Financial Times'', the newspaper "is seen as a mouthpiece for Abu Dhabi's worldview." The newspaper toes th ...

, Oct 15, 2010 He succeeded former General Secretary

Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi (1943/1944 – September 1, 2011) was a Bahraini politician and opposition leader. Al-Nuaimi, who spent more than thirty years in self-imposed exile from Bahrain, founded some of the country's most important political Opposit ...

, who fell into a coma in April 2007 and died in 2011. Sharif was formerly associated with the underground

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain The Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain () was an underground political party in Bahrain with origins in the Arab Nationalist Movement. Its members were inclined towards the leftist Marxist trend within the ANM. It was created after the ...

. Sharif is a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

. On 17 March 2011, Sharif was arrested in his home in

Manama Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...

for his role in the Bahraini uprising, which called for greater political freedom and for the rights of the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

majority. Shortly after,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

reported allegations that he was being tortured by state security forces while in detention. The organization named him a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

, and called for his immediate release. On 22 March 2011, the

Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain (TRA) is the official, independent body recognized by the Government of Bahrain for regulating the telecoms sector in Bahrain. TRA presides over licensing, regulation and policy making, con ...

announced a decision to revoke all licenses from Bahraini telecom firm 2Connect, of which more than 10 percent was owned by Sharif as of 22 March 2011. According to the Gulf Daily News, rumors of the suspension had been circulating since 14 March 2011, although the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority had initially denied these rumors. In a statement to the Gulf Daily News on 23 March 2011, founder and managing director Fahad Shirawi revealed that the company had initiated a process to ensure that the company was 100% owned by himself, a group of Saudi investors, and the employees. The decision to revoke 2Connect's licenses was reversed on 13 April 2011. Also on 13 April 2011, 2Connect released a statement saying that Shirawi was stepping down from his position as managing director and leaving 2Connect after seven years of service, for personal reasons. Sharif was sentenced to five years in prison on 22 June 2011. In September 2012, an appeal court upheld his sentence, despite determining that the evidence against him had been obtained by means of torture. Sharif was released from imprisonment on 20 June 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharif, Ibrahim 1957 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Bahrain Bahraini Arab nationalists Bahraini dissidents Bahraini exiles Bahraini left-wing activists Bahraini Sunni Muslims Bahraini torture victims Living people National Democratic Action Society politicians People of the Bahraini uprising of 2011 Bahraini prisoners and detainees

See also

References