| Bahrain protest leader jailed |
DUBAI A prominent Bahraini protest leader, Nabeel Rajab, was sentenced to three months in prison on Monday over a tweet against the prime minister which the court said insulted Bahrainis, Rajab’s lawyer said.
Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, spent three weeks in jail in June under investigation after suggesting in a tweet that residents of the Muharraq district had only made a recent show of support for Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman for financial gain.
A complaint over that and other tweets against the prime minister, who has been in his post since 1971, was made by a group of retired army and security officers who are seen as pro-government.
Bahrain has increased parliament’s powers of scrutiny over ministers and says it is reforming policing to conform with international rights standards. It accuses protesters of rioting and wounding police.
The judge said the time Rajab has already spent in jail would count towards the sentence, Rajab’s lawyer Mohammed Al Jishi said. Jishi said Rajab would lodge an appeal and it was not clear if he would be taken to jail or remain free.
Reuters
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