Bahrain Mirror: Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the verdict issued today by a Bahraini court, sentencing prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, to two years in prison.

The international human rights watchdog dubbed the verdict against Rajab "cruel and absurd" in a tweet.

"A Bahraini court's sentence today against Nabeel Rajab, one of the Arab world's leading human rights defenders, to two years in prison for "spreading false news" is only a testament to the sham nature of this Bahraini judicial proceeding," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch said.

"Nabeel's work will continue for generations until Bahrainis share the same human rights as free people around the world," she added.

A Bahraini court sentenced today (Monday July 10, 2017) prominent human rights activist and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab, to a two-year prison term, in a case involving television interviews in 2015 and 2016. He was convicted with broadcasting and spreading false news and rumors about the internal situation in the Kingdom, and allegedly "undermining the prestige of the state".

.@HRW on cruel and absurd verdict against human rights hero @NABEELRAJAB pic.twitter.com/Tt473UE295

— Sarah Leah Whitson (@sarahleah1) July 10, 2017