Bahrain court upholds jail sentence against rights activist Rajab
Nabeel Rajab
DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s top court on Monday upheld a two-year prison sentence imposed last year by a lower tribunal on  rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab  over comments  he  was alleged to have made to journalists  a rights group said.
The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said in a statement that the Court of Cassation’s ruling was the last level of appeal in a case that began in mid-2016 when  Rajab  was arrested over tweets suggesting that security forces had tortured detainees in a prison.
 Rajab   a leading figure in pro-democracy protests that swept Bahrain in 2011  was convicted last year of making “false or malicious” statements about authorities in Bahrain.
The charges arose from a January 2015 interview cited by the prosecution  in which  he  was alleged to have said that Bahrain was holding political prisoners who were subject to torture.
Amnesty International called  Rajab ’s imprisonment “a flagrant violation of human rights  and an alarming sign that the Bahraini authorities will go to any length to silence criticism”.
The U.N. human rights office last year called on Bahrain to “unconditionally and immediately” release  Rajab .
BIRD said  Rajab   who underwent surgery for a bleeding ulcer last year  faces up to 15 years in jail over a second hearing related to comments  he  is alleged to have made on Twitter. A verdict is expected on February 21.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s top court on Monday upheld a two-year prison sentence imposed last year by a lower tribunal on  rights campaigner [TGT]  over comments  he  was alleged to have made to journalists  a rights group said.
The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said in a statement that the Court of Cassation’s ruling was the last level of appeal in a case that began in mid-2016 when  Rajab  was arrested over tweets suggesting that security forces had tortured detainees in a prison.
 Rajab   a leading figure in pro-democracy protests that swept Bahrain in 2011  was convicted last year of making “false or malicious” statements about authorities in Bahrain.
The charges arose from a January 2015 interview cited by the prosecution  in which  he  was alleged to have said that Bahrain was holding political prisoners who were subject to torture.
Amnesty International called  Rajab ’s imprisonment “a flagrant violation of human rights  and an alarming sign that the Bahraini authorities will go to any length to silence criticism”.
The U.N. human rights office last year called on Bahrain to “unconditionally and immediately” release  Rajab .
BIRD said  Rajab   who underwent surgery for a bleeding ulcer last year  faces up to 15 years in jail over a second hearing related to comments  he  is alleged to have made on Twitter. A verdict is expected on February 21.