Free jailed activist, UN urges Bahrain
A SPECIAL UN panel is urging Bahrain to immediately release imprisoned activist Nabeel Rajab, describing him as the victim of government-sponsored “persecution” for his political views in the island kingdom.
The statement by the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention comes as Rajab is serving a five-year prison sentence for tweets he sent – a case widely criticised internationally as the kingdom’s government continues a crackdown on dissent. He faces further time in jail on other charges similarly denounced abroad.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet and a British naval base, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the panel’s statement. The kingdom did not respond to the UN panel’s questions regarding Rajab’s case.
“Mr Rajab’s political views and convictions are at the centre of the present case and the authorities’ attitude towards him can only be characterised as discriminatory,” the panel said. “He has been the target of persecution, including deprivation of liberty, for years… ”
Rajab has faced years of imprisonment and a government campaign co-ordinated against him for backing the island’s 2011 Arab Spring protests. Then, the island’s Shia majority and others demanded more political freedoms from the kingdom’s ruling Sunni family, the Al Khalifa.
Bahrain ultimately put down the demonstrations, relying on reinforcements from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Rajab was sentenced in August 2012 to three years in prison for allegedly fomenting clashes between police and protesters, a case similarly criticised by the UN panel.
At the time, he was serving a three-month sentence for posting anti-government comments on Twitter. He was released in May 2014 after serving two years, but was detained again over his comments on Twitter.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa pardoned Rajab in July 2015 over concerns about his health.
But Rajab was again arrested in June 2016 over his tweets alleging abuse at Bahrain’s Jaw prison and criticising civilian casualties in the Yemen war waged by a Saudi-led coalition, of which Bahrain is a member. Prosecutors also investigated the activist, 53, for letters he wrote from jail and published by Le Monde and The New York Times.
Bahrain’s constitution guarantees its citizens freedom of speech. But Rajab was prosecuted under laws making it illegal to offend a foreign country, spread rumours at wartime or “insult” a government agency. The panel’s appeal is unlikely to sway the rulers of Bahrain. –AP