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| Bahrain Court Upholds Activist’s Conviction | Bahrain Court Upholds Activist’s Conviction |
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| CAIRO — A court in Bahrain upheld the conviction of a prominent human rights activist on Tuesday, sentencing him to two years in a case that has exposed the government to international criticism and was seen as a crucial test of the monarchy’s repeated pledges to allow greater political freedom. | CAIRO — A court in Bahrain upheld the conviction of a prominent human rights activist on Tuesday, sentencing him to two years in a case that has exposed the government to international criticism and was seen as a crucial test of the monarchy’s repeated pledges to allow greater political freedom. |
| The activist, Nabeel Rajab, had been sentenced in August to three years in prison on charges of inciting antigovernment protests. On Tuesday, a judge dismissed one of the charges against Mr. Rajab, who has been incarcerated since August, reducing the sentence to two years from three, according to Mr. Rajab’s brother. | |
| “It is very disappointing,” said the brother, Ammar Rajab, who suggested that the decision originated with Bahrain’s rulers rather than its judiciary. “The leadership of the country are not allowing him to go out of prison.” | “It is very disappointing,” said the brother, Ammar Rajab, who suggested that the decision originated with Bahrain’s rulers rather than its judiciary. “The leadership of the country are not allowing him to go out of prison.” |
| Mr. Rajab is among the leading figures in an opposition movement that has worked to ease the monarchy’s stranglehold on political life and a regular critic of members of the ruling family. The government forcefully repressed a popular uprising last year, and the conflict has since settled into a stalemate, transforming one of the region’s most politically vibrant societies into an incubator of resentment and sectarian rifts. | |
| The court decision comes just days after Bahrain, in a rare opening, hosted international visitors including journalists at a security conference, the Manama Dialogue. A ban on public protests was temporarily lifted to allow Bahrain’s biggest opposition group to hold a rally and the foreign minister, speaking at the conference, spoke of progress in the reform agenda and a focus on making the judiciary more independent. | The court decision comes just days after Bahrain, in a rare opening, hosted international visitors including journalists at a security conference, the Manama Dialogue. A ban on public protests was temporarily lifted to allow Bahrain’s biggest opposition group to hold a rally and the foreign minister, speaking at the conference, spoke of progress in the reform agenda and a focus on making the judiciary more independent. |
| Visiting dignitaries, including Senator John McCain, met with opposition figures and human rights activists. | |
| But the government’s opponents were skeptical that the opening represented any change in its position, pointing out that three opposition politicians who had been invited to the conference were abruptly asked not to attend, after pressure on the conference organizers from the government. | But the government’s opponents were skeptical that the opening represented any change in its position, pointing out that three opposition politicians who had been invited to the conference were abruptly asked not to attend, after pressure on the conference organizers from the government. |
| On the day the conference ended, a prominent antigovernment activist, Zainab al-Khawaja, who has faced repeated arrest, was again detained for protesting in a public hospital over the treatment of a young man who was badly injured by the security forces. | |
| In an interview a few days before the court hearing Tuesday, Mr. Rajab’s family said that they had little expectation of a favorable verdict but that they hoped that recent signs of international pressure — from the United States, as well as President François Hollande of France, who mentioned Mr. Rajab in public recently — might make a difference. | In an interview a few days before the court hearing Tuesday, Mr. Rajab’s family said that they had little expectation of a favorable verdict but that they hoped that recent signs of international pressure — from the United States, as well as President François Hollande of France, who mentioned Mr. Rajab in public recently — might make a difference. |
| Representatives of those countries were in the courtroom Tuesday, listening as Mr. Rajab defended himself, his brother said. “It’s like the judge never heard him,” he said. | Representatives of those countries were in the courtroom Tuesday, listening as Mr. Rajab defended himself, his brother said. “It’s like the judge never heard him,” he said. |