News / Persian Gulf

RSF urges Bahrain to release rights activist Rajab

Wednesday, 25 January 2017 5:52 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 25 January 2017 6:00 PM ]

Bahrainis take part in a demonstration to urge the release of prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab in the capital Manama. (File photo)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a group advocating the rights of journalists and activists, has called on the Bahraini regime to immediately release prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab, saying his continued detention would do nothing to cleanse Manama's image as a rights violator.

"We call for the immediate release of Nabeel Rajab, who is guilty only of exercising his right to freedom of expression and information by criticizing Bahrain's government," said the RSF's Middle East head Alexandra El Khazen.

Rajab, an online journalist and campaigner known for his activism for the promotion of human rights in Bahrain, has faced successive arrests over the past few years for his criticism of the government. The activist was arrested on June 13, 2016, and then was sent to solitary confinement. Authorities have brought two cases against him, one for tweets he sent online over Bahrain's contribution to the Saudi-led war on Yemen in 2015 and the second for an interview he gave to a TV station in 2014 and 2015, where he criticized Manama's policies.

This February 13, 2015 photo shows Bahraini protesters taking cover from tear gas during clashes with police following a demonstration to mark the fourth anniversary of the uprising on the outskirts of the capital, Manama. (Photo by AFP)

The RSF said Rajab should have been freed from jail by the end of December 2016 as the first proceeding against him went nowhere. It said bringing charges against Rajab for the interview would certainly do nothing to vindicate the government against allegations of rights abuses.

"The new proceedings against him reflect a desire to keep him in detention at all costs and to punish him for statements to the media which, according to the government, hurt the country’s international image," said the RSF, adding, "But convicting this citizen journalist is not going to clear Bahrain’s name."

For more than six years, Bahrain has been engaged in a heavy-handed crackdown against citizens who have been demanding more freedom in the country's political system. The tiny Persian Gulf kingdom has faced huge international criticism for its way of dealing with dissent.

The RSF has ranked Bahrain 162nd out of 180 countries in the organization's World Press Freedom Index.

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