Bahrain rights activist jailed for spreading false news

FILE PHOTO: Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab arrives for his appeal hearing at court in Manama. (Reuters)

DUBAI: Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab was on Wednesday sentenced to five more years in prison for insulting a neighboring country and spreading false news and rumors, judicial sources told AFP.
Rajab is already serving a two-year sentence handed down last July for “disseminating rumors and false information” in television interviews critical of the government.
Bahrain’s constitution guarantees its citizens freedom of speech. However, Rajab was prosecuted under laws making it illegal to offend a foreign country, spread rumors at wartime or “insult” a government agency.
He has served multiple stints in prison since 2012, linked to his role in anti-government protests.
Rajab’s legal problems began after Bahrain quashed the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
He was sentenced in August 2012 to three years in prison for allegedly fomenting clashes between police and protesters. At the time, he was already serving a three-month sentence for posting anti-government comments on Twitter. He was released in May 2014 after serving two years, but was detained again over his comments on Twitter.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa pardoned Rajab in July 2015 over concerns about his health after the activist served some three months in prison.
But Rajab was again arrested in June 2016 over some of his controversial tweets. Prosecutors also investigated the 53-year-old activist for letters he wrote while imprisoned that were later published by newspapers Le Monde and The New York Times.
Authorities accuse Iran of being behind years of bomb and gun attacks on its security forces, something Iran denies. Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet, a key naval base in the oil-exporting region.