Bahrain Rights Campaigner Nabil Rajab Freed From Jail

Local Editor

The official BNA news agency reported that Bahraini human rights campaigner Nabil Rajab had been pardoned by King Hamad after serving three months of a six-month jail sentence.

The king made the order because of fears over Rajab's health, it said.

Further, an appeals court in May upheld the six-month prison sentence he had received.

Rajab served several prison sentences since setting up the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights in 2002. He was arrested in April and charged with insulting public institutions on Twitter.

Moreover, Bahrain's rulers forcibly quelled a 2011 public uprising.

Rajab fell foul of the authorities in September after suggesting in a tweet that security institutions in Bahrain served as an "ideological incubator" for Takfiris.

Human rights groups described his arrest and conviction as developments which should give the US pause for thought as it considered whether to lift restrictions on sending arms to the kingdom.

In June US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that Bahrain's progress on human rights, including the release of political prisoners, meant that Washington would resume aid to the military in Bahrain.

Consequently, demonstrations against Bahrain's monarchy had occurred sporadically since 2011. Dozens died when the government moved to quash the protests.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team