Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned a Manama appeal court decision on Wednesday (February 3, 2015) upholding internationally-known photographer Ahmed Al-Fardan's three-month jail sentence and arrest after the hearing to begin serving the sentence.

RSF regarded today's appeal court decision and arrest as "arbitrary" and demanded his immediate and unconditional release. "We also call on the Bahraini authorities to stop such practices, which are designed to intimidate independent journalists, and to free all journalists held on trumped-up charges," said Alexandra El Khazen, the head of RSF's Middle East desk. "Journalists in Bahrain are persecuted by the regime," she stressed.

Fardan's lawyer, Mohamed Mehdi, told RSF that his client was shocked by the appeal court's decision, especially as he recently married and has been working for the past year for Gulf Daily News, a local paper.

Arabic Issue