Bahrain Mirror: Human Rights Watch (HRW) reiterated today (December 12, 2016) in a statement its demand that the Bahraini authorities immediately release prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab, whose trial is scheduled to resume on December 15, 2016, on charges that inherently violate the right to free expression. It also noted that "among Bahrain's allies only the United States has publicly called for his release." 

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW said, "Rajab shouldn't have been arrested in the first place and countries like the UK, France, and Germany should be loudly calling for his immediate release." "Keeping him in detention for all these months while the government seeks an expert opinion only compounds the injustice," he went on to say.

The HRW statement indicated, "The conditions of Rajab's detention have at times appeared to amount to arbitrary punishment. He was in solitary confinement for more than two weeks after his arrest and was denied compassionate leave to attend a relative's funeral."

"Nabeel Rajab has already spent six months in jail solely for peacefully criticizing the government," Stork added, stressing, "It is a mark of shame that European countries that claim to respect human rights can't muster the courage to criticize these absurd charges."

Arabic Version