Bahrain court frees activist pending trial

Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab arrives for his appeal hearing at court in Manama on February 11, 2015. (Reuters file photo)

DUBAI: A prominent activist in Bahrain held for over seven months on charges stemming from a series of tweets was released on bail Wednesday, though he still may face prison time.
A Bahraini court ordered the release of Nabeel Rajab pending his trial on charges of spreading false information and posting insults online, a judicial source said.
The decision follows repeated requests to release Rajab, 52, who suffered recurring health problems.
Nabeel Rajab, who provoked Bahrain’s 2011 protests, walked out of court after a lengthy hearing, defense lawyer Jalila Sayed said. The court postponed his trial to Jan. 23 to continue the trial, the source said, adding that Rajab attended the hearing.
“Nabeel is overall weak because of so many health problems he started facing, including heart problems and other physical issues,” Sayed told The Associated Press. “He’s under tremendous stress because of this length of detention.”
Rajab was arrested in June over a series of messages posted to his Twitter account about the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen, as well as allegations of torture by authorities at a local prison.
He separately faces a charge over a letter published by The New York Times during his incarceration, while another ongoing investigation focuses on a letter recently published by the French newspaper Le Monde.
In Wednesday’s hearing, Sayed said she believes the court granted bail because a witness for the prosecution couldn’t specifically prove that Rajab had control of the Twitter account in his name, nor show he sent the tweets in question.
“We hope this will end with an acquittal because the case has no evidence,” the lawyer said.
Bahraini officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bahrain, off the coast of Saudi Arabia, is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet and an under-construction British naval base.
The human rights activist, who had been pardoned for health reasons last year, was re-arrested in June and is on trial on a list of charges.
He is also accused of “spreading false news and rumors and inciting propaganda during wartime which could undermine the war operations by the Bahraini armed forces and weaken the nation,” according to state media.
Bahrain is part of a Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Rajab has been repeatedly detained for organizing protests and publishing tweets deemed insulting to Bahrain’s authorities.
He previously served two years in jail on charges of taking part in unauthorized protests in the Kingdom.