2 Bahrainis jailed for defaming king

A Bahraini criminal court on Monday sentenced to jail two Bahraini activists for posting remarks deemed insulting to the king on the microblogging site Twitter, their lawyers said. The 2 defendants appeared in court and one was handed a one-month jail sentence while the other was given a four-month sentence for allegedly ‘defaming’ King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Thani, the lawyers said on condition of anonymity. A third defendant facing the same charges was sentenced to six months in prison last Thursday, the lawyers added. They were part of a group of four men arrested on October 17 on charges of defaming the king — an accusation which they staunchly denied when the trial opened on October 22. The verdict against the fourth member is expected later this month. Bahrain has witnessed sporadic disturbances in the aftermath of public protests in March last year against the authorities. The kingdom came under strong criticism from international rights groups over its crackdown on the protests. Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, has continued to see demonstrations, though mostly outside the capital Manama.