Bahraini Rights Activist's Detention Extended
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bahrain's Al Khalifa regime for the second time extended the detention period of human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the tiny Persian Gulf country on Sunday ordered that Rajab remain in jail for 15 more days, citing a need for further investigation.
The prominent activist was arrested on April 2 after expressing support on Twitter for opposition activists who are in Al Khalifa regime prisons.
The prosecutor's office has accused Rajab of "spreading tendentious rumors" and "attacking a state institution."
This 15 day extension marks the second such extension this month, the first of which was made on April 11.
Rajab, the director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and a co-founder of the (Persian) Gulf Center for Human Rights, was sentenced in January to six months in prison for posting tweets deemed critical of the Al Khalifa regime. He is awaiting the result of an appeal in that case, expected on May 4.
He also spent two years in prison from 2012 to 2014.
Bahrain has been witnessing a popular uprising since February 2011.
Many Bahrainis have been tortured or killed and hundreds more injured and arrested during the regime’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.
Bahrain has been severely criticized by human rights groups for its harsh crackdown on anti-regime protests and for arresting political and rights activists.
