Rajab poses with his family and supporters at his home in Budaiya west of Manama on Monday.
AFP/Manama
Prominent Shia activist Nabeel Rajab was yesterday sentenced to six months in prison after a Bahraini court found him guilty of insulting public institutions in his tweets, a judicial source said.
But Rajab, who was released from custody one month after his arrest on October 1, could stay out of prison on bail if he pays 200 dinars, the source said, citing the court ruling.
The decision is subject to appeal, according to the prosecution.
Rajab, a member of Bahrain’s Shia community which has held protests against the authorities since 2011, was arrested after posting comments on Twitter about the interior and defence ministries.
In one of the messages deemed offensive, Rajab charged that many Bahrainis fighting with Islamist militants in Syria were former Bahraini security forces personnel who had developed extremist views while in service.
Rajab, who has led anti-government marches and heads the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was freed last May after serving two years in jail for taking part in unauthorised protests.
His new conviction came one day after prosecutors charged Bahrain’s Shia opposition chief Sheikh Ali Salman with attempting to overthrow the regime and set a January 28 trial date.
International rights groups have condemned the trials.
“Nabeel Rajab is being unjustly punished simply for posting tweets deemed insulting to the authorities. His conviction is a blow to freedom of expression—it must be quashed,” said Amnesty International’s Said Boumedouha, urging his immediate and unconditional release.
“Instead of persecuting activists who dare to speak out freely the Bahraini authorities should repeal these repressive laws and uphold the right to freedom of expression,” said Boumedouha.
