Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Bahrain's Court of Cassation on Monday (January 15, 2018) upheld a two-year prison sentence against prominent human rights activist and head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab over television interviews he had with foreign media outlets.

The authorities accuse Rajab of spreading false news in television interviews, during which he spoke of human rights violations in the country.

On July 10, 2017, the first instance court sentenced Rajab to two years in prison, while the United States expressed disappointment at this verdict, calling for the charges to be dropped as well as his immediate release.

A Bahraini appeals court on Wednesday (November 22, 2017) upheld Rajab's two-year term.

Rajab, who was arrested on June 13, 2016, is being tried in a second case. If convicted, he may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for having criticized the war on Yemen and torture practiced in Jaw Prison in a number of tweets on his Twitter account.

Arabic Version