A Bahraini court has sentenced the country’s leading opposition leader to four years in prison after finding him guilty of inciting disobedience and hatred in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

The court acquitted Sheikh Ali Salman, a Shia cleric and the general secretary of al-Wefaq Islamic Society, of the more serious charge of seeking to overthrow the monarchy and change the political system during Tuesday’s final ruling.

Salman was convicted on the specific charges of “explicit incitement against a group of the people, including disturbing the public peace and explicit incitement towards disobeying the law,” according to the public prosecutor.

Salman was arrested last December after leading a protest rally against parliamentary elections in November, which his party boycotted. He denied the charges during his first court hearing in January.