A Bahraini defense lawyer says prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been found guilty of insulting government ministries on Twitter and sentenced to six months in jail.
Lawyer Jalila al-Sayed told The Associated Press today that Rajab will be able to remain free on bail pending an appeal of his case.
Rajab was charged in October with insulting the ministries of defense and interior over tweets alleging that Bahrain's security institutions were incubators for extremist ideology.
His comments followed the release of a video purportedly showing four Bahrainis who joined the Islamic State group calling on countrymen to take up arms against the tiny island country's Sunni monarchy and majority Shiite population. One of the militants was identified as an officer who defected from Bahrain's Interior Ministry.
