Bahrain revokes opposition leader’s citizenship

A Bahraini court has revoked the citizenship of an opposition leader over his comments deemed derogatory to Saudi Arabia’s monarch King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Bahrain’s high criminal court ruled on Wednesday that the defendant, identified as Ebrahim Karimi, be stripped of his citizenship, Bahrain Mirror reported.

It sentenced him to two years and a month in prison as well as a fine of 2,100 Bahraini dinars ($5,570) over allegedly insulting Salman and Saudi Arabia, inciting anti-regime hatred, and the possession of an electroshock weapon.

Bahraini regime forces had arrested Karimi earlier this year for running the Twitter account “FreejKarimi,” where he vehemently criticized Saudi Arabia and its monarch over the execution of Saudi cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Saudi Arabia announced on January 2 that it had executed Sheikh Nimr, an outspoken critic of the regime in Riyadh. The execution caused international outrage and sparked anti-Saudi demonstrations in many countries.

Meanwhile, Bahraini judicial officials are set to try 57-year-old Khalil Halwachi, a founder of the opposition Amal group.

Human Rights First has urged the US Embassy in Manama to send an observer to the trial of the prominent opposition figure, which is scheduled to be held on Thursday.