Prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to six months in jail on Tuesday after criticizing the country's security forces on Twitter.
Rajab was arrested in October for tweeting that Bahrain's security organizations are "ideological incubators" for those who join terrorist groups.
Rajab sent a tweet about the sentence from his official account and explained that in order to stay out of jail, he would be required to pay 200 Bahraini Dinars (about $530). The conviction carried a sentence of up to six years.
I was sentenced to 6 month for a tweet with 200 BHD if I want to stay out of prison until the appeal decision #Bahrain— Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) January 20, 2015
Rajab is the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and has been in prison several times since founding the group in 2002. In 2012, he served two years in prison for his role in anti-government protests in the country. His freedom was short-lived, though; after his release in May 2014, he was arrested again in October for the tweet.
Here's one of the tweets that led to his latest arrest and conviction:
many #Bahrain men who joined #terrorism & #ISIS came from security institutions and those institutions were the first ideological incubator— Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) September 28, 2014
In an interview with Rajab posted to his YouTube channel, he defended his actions and explained why he is proud to call himself a troublemaker.
"I am a troublemaker to the government, to oppressive regimes, to dictators, to oppressors, yes I am a troublemaker and I tell them to come back to track and be good guys," he says. "Being in jail for two years makes you see the picture from far away. What keeps you going, what keeps you strong is the belief... if you want to really struggle for the right thing, you have to be ready to pay a price."
Dozens of international human rights organizations have campaigned for Rajab's release and have petition the Bahraini government to have the conviction reversed. His conviction is the latest in several actions against opposition activists by Bahrain. The UK-based Index on Censorship issued a statement condemning the sentence.
“Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced for doing nothing more than exercising his right to express an opinion. We condemn the actions of the Bahraini authorities -- whose foreign minister marched in Paris to defend freedoms that Bahrain denies the people in its own country. We urge the UK and other allies of Bahrain to join us in calling for this sentence to be overturned,” Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in the statement.
Rajab's lawyer said he will appeal the sentence.