Bahraini Activist Nabeel Rajab Released from Prison
Rajab wore a garland of white roses after his release on Tuesday, smiling while posing with his family. He will serve out the remainder of his prison term at home, his family reportedly said.
Rajab, an outspoken critic of the Bahraini government and a leading figure in the 2011 pro-democracy protests, was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison over social media posts accusing authorities of prison abuse and criticizing Saudi Arabia’s aggression on Yemen.
He had been in jail since 2016 and served another two-year term for torture allegations he made in a news interview. Rajab also faced a number of other cases, and it was unclear how much time he had left to serve, according to Al Jazeera.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing widespread 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.
