Bahrain Mirror: A Bahraini appeals court upheld on Sunday (March 12, 2017) a 3-month jail sentence issued against Shiite cleric and Imam of Al-Khaif Mosque, Sheikh Isa Al-Moemen, over charges of "inciting hatred against the regime."

A first degree court had sentenced on Thursday (November 24, 2016) to three months in prison over charges of promoting hatred against the ruling system in a sermon he had delivered on August 2, 2016 at Al-Khaif Mosque in Al-Dair village, determining that the amount required for suspending the implementation of the sentence to be 500 BD.

The security authorities arrested Sheikh Al-Moemen on August 6, 2016 and referred him to trial while in custody. The court; however, decided on December 28, 2016 that he can be released on 500 BD bail, pending trial.

The Bahraini authorities have been continuing a brutal campaign against Shiite clerics, launched since the Bahraini Shia spiritual leader Ayatollah Isa Qassim was stripped of his nationality on June 20, 2016, prompting strong criticism from international human rights organizations.

Arabic Version