DUBAI: Bahraini authorities have accused a prominent opposition figure of "inciting hatred and contempt against the regime" in a statement to foreign media, a local newspaper reported Monday.

The prosecution said Sunday it had summoned Ibrahim Sharif after he made a statement that "harms the kingdom's constitutional system" to a foreign press outlet.

Sharif denied parts of the statement attributed to him, it said, adding that he was released after being charged and pending further investigations.

The Al-Wasat daily confirmed the release with Sharif's lawyer.

Sharif, the former secretary general of the Waed secular association, spoke to foreign press last week during a visit by Britain's Prince Charles to the Gulf kingdom.

Authorities in July freed Sharif after he served a one-year jail term for anti-regime incitement.

He had already served four years of a five-year sentence over the 2011 protests before being released under a royal amnesty in June last year.

But he was re-arrested the following month after he addressed a memorial service for someone killed during the suppression of the Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations in early 2011.