Free Nabeel Rajab

Bahrain: Letter Calling for Pardon of Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab
10 November, 2103 – Front Line Defenders

On 8 November 2013, Front Line Defenders sent a letter to the King of Bahrain Shaikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa calling for the pardon of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab; who has been imprisoned since May 2012 after being convicted on charges of inciting illegal gatherings. Nabeel Rajab is currently awaiting a response to his application for pardon.

The human rights defender is the President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. He is one of the most prominent human rights defenders in the Middle East and has been a leading voice in the Arab Spring in Bahrain. He has faced physical intimidation, arrest, detention and travel bans as a result of his work.

In its letter Front Line Defenders requests that the Bahraini government grant Nabeel Rajab access to his basic right to benefit from the Law for Pardons. Under the existing provisions, pardons are available to persons imprisoned for misdemeanours. So long as a prisoner’s conduct is satisfactory, he or she may apply for a pardon after completion of 75% of their sentence.

Nabeel Rajab’s lawyer has formally applied for a pardon but has yet to receive a decision from the judge. If a pardon were to be granted, Nabeel Rajab would be released from prison on 29 November 2013. …source