Bahrain Mirror: Amnesty International addressed on Thursday (December 13th, 2018) the Bahraini authorities in an urgent action appeal, demanding the immediate release of imprisoned human rights activist Nabeel Rajab. The organization confirmed that Rajab was sentenced for expressing his opinion in peaceful tweets.

Addressing the Bahraini King, the Interior and Justice Ministries as well as a number of competent authorities in Bahrain, Amnesty called for quashing Nabeel's convictions and sentences, since he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. Amnesty further demanded that they ensure that Nabeel Rajab is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment; has regular access to his family, lawyers of his choice, and adequate healthcare, also urging them to uphold the right to freedom of expression and repeal laws that criminalize the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, including Article 216 of the Penal Code.

On December 31, Bahrain's Cassation Court is expected to issue its verdict in the case of Nabeel Rajab. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in June 2018 in relation to peaceful tweets about the conflict in Yemen and torture allegations in Jaw prison.

Nabeel Rajab is a prominent human rights defender and the President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. He is the founding director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, the Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights and a member of Human Rights Watch.

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