Updated

A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a court has prolonged the appeal of an imprisoned human rights activist by ordering another hearing next month.

Nabeel Rajab is challenging his three-year prison sentence for allegedly encouraging illegal protests and violence in the strife-wracked Gulf nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet.

He is among the most high-profile prisoners in Bahrain's crackdowns. The country has been hit by near-daily unrest since February 2011, when its Shiite majority began an uprising demanding a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled nation.

Attorney Mohammed al-Jishi says the court on Tuesday set Rajab's next hearing for Nov. 8.

Also Tuesday, authorities detained another rights campaigner, Mohammed al-Maskati, the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.