Bahrainis to face jail terms for ‘offending’ king

Bahrain has announced tougher sentences for “offending” King Hamad, ahead of the third anniversary of the country’s 2011 popular revolt against the Al Khalifa regime.

An amendment to Bahrain’s 1976 penal code says that “publicly offending the king of Bahrain, its national flag or emblem” will carry a sentence of minimum one year and maximum seven years, as well as a fine of up to USD 26,000.

The sentence can exceed to seven years if the “offense was committed in the presence of the king,” Bahrain’s state news agency BNA reported, without providing details.

Previously, the same charges carried a minimum sentence of only a few days.

In 2012, a criminal court sentenced two activists to one and four months in jail, respectively, after their conviction for posting remarks that Bahraini authorities deemed “insulting” to the king on Twitter.

The new tougher measures on activists come as Bahrainis prepare to mark the anniversary of their uprising against the ruling Al Khalifa family that began in mid-February 2011.

The revolt saw thousands of protesters take on the streets, initially calling for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy. However, the demand later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the Al Khalifa regime following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to help the regime repression of peaceful protests in the Persian Gulf island nation.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in the brutal crackdown.

Physicians for Human Rights say doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they had “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the Manama regime for its excessive use of force against peaceful protesters.