AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A Manama court rejected a motion on Monday that was filed by Nabeel Rajab’s lawyers asking for an alternative punishment to the activist’s lengthy jail sentence.
The Reuters news agency cited Rajab’s lawyer, Mohamed Al Jishi, who explained that the motion had been filed last month in a bid to benefit from Bahrain’s so-called ‘alternative punishment law’.
The law was introduced in May of last year and allows judges to offer assessments of what an appropriate ‘alternative’ punishment would be if the court determines that the defendant will not commit a ‘crime’ in the future.
The law is reportedly aimed at easing congestion in Bahrain’s prisons where overcrowding is commonplace.
Rajab is currently serving a total of seven years behind bars following two separate convictions.
In December of last year, Manama’s top court upheld his five-year prison sentence over mere tweets criticizing the Saudi-led war in Yemen and the use of torture in Bahrain.
Back in 2017, he was slapped with a two-year sentence for ‘disseminating false news’ and ‘undermining Bahrain’s prestige’ – charges that stemmed from television interviews.
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source : LuaLua TV
Monday
6 May 2019
11:24:30 AM
939746
A Manama court rejected a motion on Monday that was filed by Nabeel Rajab’s lawyers asking for an alternative punishment to the activist’s lengthy jail sentence.