Bahrain Top Court Upholds Jail Sentence against Relatives of Prominent Activist

TEHRAN (IQNA) –  Bahrain’s highest court upheld three-year jail sentences against three relatives of a prominent exiled political activist, a rights group said on Monday, a case the UN describes as an unlawful act of reprisal over family connections.

Bahrain’s Court of Cassation rejected the appeal of Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei’s three family members, the London-based human rights group Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Alwadaei’s brother-in-law, Sayed Nazar Alwadaei, his cousin Mahmood Marzooq Mansoor and his mother-in-law Hajar Mansoor Hassan were sentenced on security-related charges in December 2017.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.

Amnesty International and many other international rights organizations have frequently censured the Bahraini regime for the rampant human rights abuses against opposition groups and anti-regime protesters.