DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A prominent activist in Bahrain held for over seven months on charges stemming from a series of tweets was released on bail Wednesday, though he still may face prison time.
Nabeel Rajab, who helped lead Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring protests, walked out of court after a lengthy hearing, defense lawyer Jalila Sayed said. He will return to court Jan. 23 to continue a trial criticized by the United Nations and others as an attempt to suppress free speech.
“Nabeel is overall weak because of so many health problems he started facing, including heart problems and other physical issues,” Sayed told The Associated Press. “He’s under tremendous stress because of this length of detention.”
Rajab was arrested in June over a series of messages posted to his Twitter account about the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen, as well as allegations of torture by authorities at a local prison. He separately faces a charge over a letter published by The New York Times during his incarceration, while another ongoing investigation focuses on a letter recently published by the French newspaper Le Monde.
In Wednesday’s hearing, Sayed said she believes the court granted bail because a witness for the prosecution couldn’t specifically prove that Rajab had control of the Twitter account in his name, nor show he sent the tweets in question.