Manama: Bahraini authorities on Wednesday questioned a prominent rights activist over comments on his Twitter account that “denigrated” government institutions, the interior ministry said.
Nabeel Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was freed in May after he completed two years in jail on charges of organising and participating in illegal protests. The Ministry said Rajab was summoned for questioning by the General Directorate of Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security on Wednesday “regarding tweets posted on his Twitter account that denigrated government institutions”.
“Mr Rajab acknowledged the charges and the case was referred to the Public Prosecutor,” the ministry said in a statement on its Twitter account.
Rajab, who had returned to Bahrain from a tour mostly in Europe following his release in May, had earlier reported being summoned for questioning over his tweets.
A friend who was running the account in Rajab’s absence later said without elaborating that the activist had been detained and would face the public prosecution on Thursday.
There was no immediate confirmation from the authorities that Rajab had been arrested.
Speaking after his release in May, Rajab called for a “genuine dialogue” between the ruling authorities and the opposition to reach a solution for the deadlock in the US-allied country.
Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail last year in a separate case over a tweet criticising the prime minister, the king’s uncle. The ruling was overturned, but only after Rajab had already served his sentence.
