Bahraini Court to Consider Leading Activist Arrest Appeal Ahead of Schedule

The appeal on arrest of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab will be considered 10 days ahead of the schedule and take place on April 5, according to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

MOSCOW, April 4 (Sputnik) — The court appeal of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab seeking to overturn his arrest will be considered 10 days ahead of the schedule and take place on April 5, a watchdog, presided by Rajab, said Saturday.

On Thursday, the activist was arrested over his posts on Twitter concerning the use of torture in Bahrain's Jaw Prison.

"Appeal sentence due 15/4 for @NABEELRAJAB changed to tomorrow not a good sign usually," the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said on its Twitter account.

Appeal sentence due 15/4 for @NABEELRAJAB changed to tomorrow not a good sign usually. Taken to prosecution today on new charges #Bahrain

— Bahrain Human Rights (@BahrainRights) 4 апреля 2015

According to the country's interior minister, Rajab had been taken into custody for posting information that could disrupt civil peace and insult a statutory body.

According to the BCHR website, a number of human rights organizations, both in and outside of the country, have condemned Rajab's arrest and called on the authorities to drop all charges against the activist.

The Bahrain Human Rights Society, the European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, as well as the BCHR itself urged for the release of Rajab.

Over the recent weeks, Rajab has posted multiple tweets related to human rights abuses at Jaw Prison. He has been repeatedly detained for speaking out on social media.