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Twitter activists jailed in Bahrain for insulting king | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A court in Bahrain has sentenced six activists to a year in jail for insulting King Hamad in messages posted on Twitter. | |
They were convicted for what the Bahraini public prosecutor called the "misuse of freedom of expression". | |
The sentences come as the government and courts continue their crackdown on protest and dissent. | |
Pro-democracy protests, both peaceful and violent, have rocked the Gulf island kingdom since February 2011. | |
One of those convicted was lawyer Mahdi al-Basri, who was held responsible for "offensive" tweets attacking King Hamad and the ruling al-Khalifa family. | |
Mr al-Basri did not send the tweets himself, but served as a lawyer for a community account that posted the material. | |
One human rights lawyer, who asked not to be named, said the conviction was part of a broader campaign of harassment by the government. | |
Mr al-Basri "wasn't even involved in any human rights cases and yet he has been jailed," the lawyer told the BBC. | |
The sentences were announced on Wednesday, the same day the family of jailed activist Nabeel Rajab told the BBC of their concerns for his wellbeing. | |
His wife Sumaya Rajab said she was "very worried" about him. | |
Mrs Rajab said she had been told by a relative of another prisoner that he had been moved from his cell. However, prison authorities denied the allegation. | |
Mrs Rajab said this happened after her husband called her on Tuesday, telling her he had seen young prisoners being beaten. | |
The claim spread very quickly on social network sites. Mr Rajab is the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and has over 200,000 followers on Twitter. | |
He has served nearly 12 months of a two-year term for encouraging "illegal gatherings". | |
Mrs Rajab said she met the head of the prison on Wednesday, who told her that her husband "is OK and he is in his cell." | |
But she said when she asked to see him "even for two minutes to see he was alright" her request was refused. | But she said when she asked to see him "even for two minutes to see he was alright" her request was refused. |
A government spokesperson contacted by the BBC said Mr Rajab had not been moved, and said that his wife could see him at a regularly scheduled visit next Monday. | |
Another prominent human rights activist, Zainab al-Khawaja, who was jailed for three months in March, was sentenced last week to an additional three months in prison on a charge related to an illegal gathering. | |
Her father Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is currently serving a life sentence for plotting the overthrow of the government, on evidence that is widely accepted as having been secured under torture. | |
Both he and his daughter have been refused family visits for refusing to wear prison uniforms. | Both he and his daughter have been refused family visits for refusing to wear prison uniforms. |