Ahlul Bayt News Agency - The Norwegian authorities call for the release of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, said State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bård Glad Pedersen.
Bård added on the eve of issuing the verdict against Rajab (13 May 2015) that, "Mr Rajab, who met the political leadership of Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2014, has been imprisoned several times following accusations of having publicly insulted the Bahraini authorities on social media and having participated in and encouraged unauthorized demonstrations."
"The sentence against Nabeel Rajab is another example of how difficult the situation is for human rights defenders in Bahrain. A large number of human rights activists have been imprisoned with extremely harsh sentences. Norway calls for Nabeel Rajab to be released as quickly as possible," Mr Glad Pedersen stated.
The human rights situation in Bahrain has deteriorated steadily in recent years. Fundamental human rights – such as freedom of speech and freedom of association – are severely restricted, and civil society is under surveillance.
Bahrain upholds six-month sentence for prominent activist over tweet
An appeals court in Bahrain upheld a six-month jail sentence against prominent dissident Nabeel Rajab on Thursday for a tweet deemed insulting to the kingdom's security establishment, state news agency BNA said.
He was convicted for "publicly insulting two government bodies," the attorney general's office was quoting as saying, referring to the defence and interior ministries.
Rajab has been a leading figure in protests by the tiny island kingdom's Shi'ite Muslim majority since the 2011 Islamic Awakening.
He has accused the country of repression and torture. The tweet at the centre of his case accused authorities of not tackling the threat of hardline militant groups like ISIS.
"Many Bahrain men who joined terrorism and ISIS came from security institutions and those were the first ideological incubator," he wrote on Twitter in September.
In an open letter to the New York Times last month, Rajab urged greater freedom of expression in Arab countries.
"Our governments divide us along religious lines, preventing us from collectively challenging extremism within our societies," he wrote.
Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail in 2013 in a separate case over a tweet criticising the prime minister, the king's uncle. The ruling was overturned, but only after Rajab had already served his sentence.
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source : regjeringen
Sunday
17 May 2015
6:02:12 AM
690377
The Norwegian authorities call for the release of human rights defender #Nabeel Rajab, said State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bård Glad Pedersen.