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Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab sentenced to 3 years in prison: Lawyer

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced to three years in prison, his lawyer says.

Mohammed al-Jishi said on Thursday the court “sentenced Nabeel Rajab to three years in jail over three cases of taking part in unauthorized protests.”

Jishi also stated that the defense team would appeal.

On July 9, the Fifth Minor Criminal Court in Manama also sentenced Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to three months imprisonment for allegedly “insulting” the people of the Muharraq Island on Twitter in June.

Human Rights Watch censured the July 9 court ruling and said, “If anyone is guilty of insult today, it is the Bahraini government, which has reminded citizens they’re not free to express political views.”

On July 5, Rajab called on the international community to stop the Manama regime’s violent crackdown on protesters in Bahrain.

He said the silence of the European community and the United States is a green light for the Al Khalifa forces to continue their violation of human rights in Bahrain.

Separately, Bahraini lawyers said on August 14 that the appeals court postponed its verdict in the case of 13 detained opposition figures, including senior activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, until September 4.

Bahraini protesters have been holding demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa family since February 2011 and they hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.