BAHRAIN DISSIDENT BOYCOTTS

Bahrain's jailed opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman refused to appear in court Monday to face charges of contacts with Qatar to 'overthrow the regime', the attorney general said.

Salman and two members of his banned AI-Wefaq movement, Sultan and, Ali al-Aswad, are charged with with  'communicating with a foreign state to commits act hostile to the state of Bahrain-

With the intent to him its political, economic and national interests in order to over throw the regime'', Osama aI-Awfi said.

The jailed leader of the Shia movement ''refused to attend the hearing'' which has been deferred to Wednesday, the attorney general said in a statement.

Ali Salam has been behind bars since 2014 serving a nine year sentence for allegedly inciting hatred, while Sultan and Aswad are on the run.

In August, Bahraini authorities accused Salman of having collaborated with Qatar in 2011 to encourage protesters to take to the streets.

The accusations came after Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, cut ties with Qatar in June over alleged support for Islamist extremism and ties with Iran.

Doha denies the allegations.

Ruled for than 200 years by the AL-Khalifa dynasty, Bahrain is home to a majority that for years has complained of political marginalisation.

Bahrain authorities have also accused Iran of backing the protests and of aiming to overthrow the government.

Tehran has denied any involvement.