Bahrain Activist Nabil Rajab Sentenced to 5 years for Tweets About Impoverished Yemen

YemenExtra

M.A.

High-profile Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to a further five years in jail on Wednesday over tweets critical of the war in Yemen, a judicial source and human rights groups said.

Rajab, a leading figure in 2011 protests against the merciless regime, was already serving a two-year sentence handed down last July for “disseminating rumors and false information” in television interviews critical of the regime.

He has served multiple stints in prison since 2012, all linked to his role in the protests.

In the latest case, Rajab was found guilty of insulting a “neighboring country” and spreading false news and rumors, a judicial source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Human rights groups warned last month they feared for the health of Rajab, who has been hospitalized several times in recent years.

The Gulf Center for Human Rights, the World Organization against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights said Rajab had been advised not to take his medication in January over fears the government had intervened with the treatment.

Source: Websites