Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Bahrain must release activist after 'hollow' appeal verdict

Amnesty International

11 December 2012

"Bahrain must release a prominent human rights defender whose conviction for involvement in anti-government protests has been upheld by an appeal court, Amnesty International said today. 

Nabeel Rajab, the President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, had his three-year jail sentence for participating in and calling for “illegal gatherings” reduced to two years by the court.

His lawyers will launch an appeal before a higher court against the conviction, which relates to protests in Bahrain between February and March 2012.

“The appeal court’s gesture to reduce Nabeel Rajab’s sentence by one year is completely hollow given that he shouldn’t be serving any time in prison in the first place,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Nabeel has done nothing wrong, except peacefully express his views. A two-year prison sentence, just like a three-year sentence, is an insult and an injustice that can only be rectified by releasing him.”......"
  

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