The Bahrain-based Al-Wefaq Society denied the authenticity of the reports and audio recordings broadcast by the Bahraini media and later picked up by the Saudi and Emirati media, which accused Qatar of working to overthrow the Bahraini government, describing the reports as fabricated.
The Bahraini media claimed that a call was made between Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, former prime minister, and Bahraini opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman in 2011 and projected the communication as evidence that Qatar incited the opposition to take to the streets to increase pressure on the state.
The Bahraini opposition group said in a statement that the telephone call referred to in the report “was during an official visit to Bahrain and as part of the mediation initiatives,” and said that Bahrain’s charges are “fabricated.”
The statement added that Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem was on an official visit to Bahrain at the time of contact with Sheikh Salman in 2011, and that “he was coming from Saudi Arabia in the context of the Qatari initiative, which was then approved by the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Issa, to resolve the crisis situation in the country.”
The statement revealed that Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem met Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at Al-Safriya Palace after contacting Sheikh Salman, “in support of Doha’s initiative as per the American plan presented by then US envoy Jeffrey Feltman to mediate between the government and the opposition.”
They added that there have been several initiatives from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq and foreign countries for dialogue and exchange of opinion.
