Bahrain sentences prominent activist to 5 years in prison

Published February 21, 2018

A court in Bahrain has sentenced a prominent activist to five years in prison over tweets alleging torture at a prison in his country and criticizing Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

The case against Nabeel Rajab, a major figure in the tiny island nation's 2011 Arab Spring protests, has been widely criticized internationally.

Rajab previously had been sentenced to two years in prison over television interviews he gave that included criticisms of Bahrain, an island off Saudi Arabia that's home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The latest sentence was announced Wednesday.

Rajab has been detained since June 2016 as part of a wide crackdown on all dissent in Bahrain. He has been hospitalized several times during his incarceration over heart problems and ulcers. The latest sentence was announced Wednesday.

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