On Wednesday 21 February, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) reiterated the EU's call for the release of Bahraini human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, "including on humanitarian grounds due to his deteriorating health condition".
On 21 February, Rajab was sentenced by Bahrain’s High Criminal Court to five additional years in prison for comments posted on social media in 2015. "This verdict follows the one which had already been handed down in January. Other cases against him are still pending", the EEAS spokesperson stated in a press release. Detained since June 2016, Rajab is serving a two-year sentence for televised interviews that he gave in 2015 and 2016 – a sentence that was upheld on 15 January (see EUROPE 11941).
"This new sentence, as well as the open cases against Mr Rajab, run counter to the government of Bahrain's own commitments as the country prepares itself for new parliamentary elections", the EEAS spokesperson said, adding that "the case of Mr Rajab has become a symbol for human rights defenders and respect of freedom of speech, in Bahrain and beyond".
The spokesperson yet again encouraged all parties in Bahrain to resume dialogue with a view to relaunching a process of national reconciliation in a peaceful and constructive manner. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)