Shia activist sentenced to year in prison over charges of inciting hatred against the regime on social media

The fifth Minor Criminal Court in Bahrain sentenced a Shia activist to one year in prison after he was accused of sending several tweets on his account, which the authorities deemed “offensive to the symbols of the kingdom,” and “inciting hatred against the regime”.

The fifth Minor Criminal Court in Bahrain sentenced a Shia activist to one year in prison after he was accused of sending several tweets on his account, which the authorities deemed “offensive to the symbols of the kingdom,” and “inciting hatred against the regime”.

The court ordered the confiscation of the devices used to publish the tweets. According to the case papers, the “General Directorate for Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security received a report on the publication of offensive comments on social media sites and incitement of hatred against the regime. Hence, the necessary investigative procedures was conducted which led to the Bahraini national, against whom an arrest warrant was issued.”

The Public Prosecution charged him with the following: “He, on June 20, 2016, in the Northern Governorate, publicly incited hatred and disrespect against the regime and publicly insulted the symbols of the kingdom as described in the investigations”.

The court said that “pursuant to article 66 of the Penal Code, the most severe punishment will be issued against him, considering that the two charges were based on one criminal plan and one purpose only. For these reasons, the court sentenced the defendant to one year over the charges he was convicted with and ordered confiscating the seized phones”.