A court in Bahrain has adjourned a case involving one of the country’s most prominent human rights activists, who was arrested after he posted comments on Twitter criticising airstrikes being carried out by the Bahraini government in Yemen.
Nabeel Rajab was arrested on Thursday, with Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior stating he had posted a “message that could incite people and disrupt peace” and “defamed a statutory body”.
Mr Rajab was tweeting live as the police surrounded his house. He had earlier criticised Bahrain’s participation in Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen.
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Human Rights Watch criticised the arrest, stating “authorities should release him immediately and drop all charges that violate his right to free expression.”
“Bahrain’s allies, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, should call for Rajab’s release without delay,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
Also see our earlier posts:
Bahraini activist sentenced over tweet (21 Jan 2015)
Bahraini rights activist arrested (01 Sep 2014)
Bahrain protesters sentenced to 15 years in prison (06 April 2014)
Sri Lanka lauds Bahrain's enforcement of the 'law' (25 April 2013)
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