A Bahraini court has rejected a motion filed by lawyers of prominent activist Nabeel Rajab asking it to pass an alternative to the jail term he is currently serving, his lawyer said on Monday.

A Bahraini court has refused to grant the jailed human rights activist Nabeel Rajab a non-custodial sentence instead of the jail terms he currently serving, his lawyer said on Monday.

A human rights adviser to the Embassy of Bahrain in London, Hasan Shafaei, said that “more good news was coming,” referring to new steps that may be taken by the Bahraini government with regards to rights, reported author Bill Law, which comes following the decision to restore the citizenships of 551 Bahrainis which were withdrawn by judicial rulings.

"French President Emmanuel Macron should not hold back in criticizing Bahrain's dismal rights record during King Hamad Al Khalifa's visit to Paris on April 30," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Small-scale protests against the Bahrain Grand Prix are expected across the country this weekend, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), with the mass demonstrations that characterized the 2011 and 2012 meetings not likely to be repeated due to the climate of fear and crackdowns that now precede Formula One races in Bahrain.

Adam Rajab, son of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, gave an important testimony about the difficult conditions his father witnessed in Jaw Central Prison, his family’s sufferings and how he was being targeted since 2011. Nabeel’s freedom and reputation were targeted. He lives in very harsh conditions inside prison. His son was denied university education in Bahrain, his wife was dismissed from her job, his house was repeatedly raided and his daughter was intimidated by security forces.

Ahead of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix this weekend, Amnesty International has highlighted the grim human rights record of the country.

The American Foreign Policy magazine added Nabeel Rajab to a list of 100 figures whom it described as global thinkers and doers who had a profound impact on the planet in the last 12 month.

Human rights organizations, activists and researchers called for radical change in international policies tackling human rights violations in Bahrain in an international conference held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, entitled “Bahrain: 8 Years of Repression under International Silence”.

Human Rights Watch issued its 2019 world report on human rights around the globe, in which it said that the Bahraini authorities continue repression in Bahrain through targeting dissidents and attacking freedom of expression and assembly.

An international conference on the human rights situation in Bahrain was held in Beirut, with the participation of international human rights organizations, experts, activists and researchers.

Bahrain on Friday rejected a UN call to release prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, saying he is serving a five-year sentence for “false” tweets “which do not fall within freedom of expression”.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement in response to the call made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on January 4 regarding the “immediate and unconditional release” of Nabeel Rajab, who is serving a five-year sentence on charges of “releasing false news during wartime and publicly insulting brotherly states and the Ministry of Interior”.

Courts in the Gulf and Egypt have upheld jail terms against leading activists in a crackdown on protesting through social media, marking a somber end to 2018 for rights campaigners.

The United Nations human rights office called on Bahrain on Friday to release activist Nabeel Rajab, saying that the upholding of his five-year jail sentence by the top court this week showed "continued suppression of government critics".

The European Union condemned the Court of Cassation of Bahrain decision upholding the five-year sentence against human rights defenders Nabeel Rajab.

The Washington Post newspaper said that courts in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Monday upheld the convictions of two prominent human rights activists Nabeel Rajab and Ahmed Mansoor.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the decision by Bahrain's court of cassation on 31 December to reject citizen-journalist and human rights defender Nabeel Rajab's appeal against his five-year jail sentence.

The Bahrain Court of Cassation, the country's court of last resort, on December 31, 2018 upheld a five-year sentence for Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights defender, an act that was condemned by Human Rights Watch.

Samuel Hanryon, the press relations manager of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), posted a tweet on his personal Twitter account saying that the Paris municipality and Mayor Anne Hidalgo had announced their solidarity with human rights defender Nabeel Rajab.