Bahrain Court Overturns Nabeel Rajab’s Twitter Charge

Photo Credit: Hasan Jamali/Associated Press

The Bahrain Court of Appeals Thursday overturned a conviction against prominent human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, for tweeting allegedly anti-government comments. The charge was one of several brought against Rajab for his activism since last year’s uprising, and he is currently serving three one-year sentences on separate charges of instigating and “illegal gathering.” An official statement released by Bahrain’s Internal Affairs Authority (IAA) said the ruling “was due to the judge’s uncertainty regarding the evidence submitted to support the lawsuit.” However, Brian Dooley of Human Rights First said, “It’s hard to celebrate when the Bahrain authorities admit their mistake in jailing Nabeel Rajab for the tweet but keep him in prison until 2015 on other spurious charges.”

Additionally, the IAA released two unrelated reports Thursday. The first amended the laws and legal provisions governing the Shura and Representatives councils, and the authority and mandate of the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission. The amendments ”give the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission the mandate and authority to amend the constitution with proposals referred by the Shura and Representatives councils,” according to the report. The second states that the Ministry of Social Development has created a coalition of NGOs serving expatriates in Bahrain. The Federation of Expat Associations in meant to promote common interests and cooperation among civil societies. The report states, “The federation hopes to strengthen relations between all communities living in Bahrain by engaging them in activities, and providing its members with assistance dealing with healthcare, accommodation, work permits, travel bans or the legal rights of workers.”