BahrainHuman Rights

Bahraini activist’s case hearing set for mid-October

An appeals court in Bahrain has set October 16 as the date for the next court hearing of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

A government statement issued on Thursday said Rajab’s three separate cases of “incitement and illegal assembly” were also merged into one single appeal, AFP reported.

Rajab, the 48-year-old president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, is currently serving a three-year sentence he received on August 16 for taking part in “unauthorized” protests against the Manama regime.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International have called for Rajab’s immediate release, arguing that the activist has been jailed only for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.

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