Bahrain extends detention of activist

Mohamed al-Jishi said the extension order was issued on Saturday.

The official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) has confirmed the order.

Rajab, who is the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was arrested upon return from Lebanon at the Bahrain International Airport in the capital, Manama, on May 5.

Jishi said the detained Bahraini activist is accused of participating in an anti-regime demonstration in Manama in January and publishing on Twitter messages the regime considered “insulting.”

Rajab faces trial for the January demonstration and a second hearing for the trial is scheduled to be held on May 22.

A Bahraini public prosecution official claimed on Sunday that in January Rajab “made a public speech in which he called for a demonstration against authorities and the use of violence against security forces,” according to BNA.

His speech “triggered an illegal gathering aimed at undermining security, blocking roads, and attacking policemen,” claimed the official, whose name was not mentioned in the report.

In addition to the trial over attending the January demonstration, Rajab also faces another trial, scheduled to begin on May 16, for the messages he posted on Twitter, his lawyer said.

The main Bahraini opposition group, al-Wefaq, and many human rights groups have demanded the release of Rajab over the past few days.

Bahrainis have been holding peaceful anti-regime demonstrations since February 2011.

Demonstrators hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the death of the protesters since the beginning of the popular uprising.

HSN/PKH

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