Lawyer: Bahrain rights activist arrested again

MANAMA, Bahrain – A defense lawyer in Bahrain says a prominent human rights activists is back in detention on new charges stemming from his postings on social media that were critical of the troubled Gulf nation's ruling system.

Lawyer Mohamed al-Jishi says Nabel Rajab was arrested Wednesday for posting Twitter messages allegedly insulting residents of a Sunni-dominated neighborhood for its close ties with Bahrain's ruling Sunni dynasty.

Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has played a high-profile role in monitoring alleged abuses by authorities during the nearly 16-month-old uprising by Bahrain's majority Shiites for greater political rights.

The latest arrest is the fifth case against Rajab since May.

He was released on bail last month.