Bahrain upholds jail term for journalist

An appeals court in Bahrain has upheld a controversial 10-year jail term against 25-year-old photojournalist, Ahmed Humaidan.

Bahraini judicial sources said on Sunday the country’s High Court of Appeals ruled against the imprisoned photographer.

Bahraini regime officials say Humaidan and 28 other Shias were sentenced to 10 years behind bars after being accused of involvement in an attack against a police station in 2012.

This comes as several human rights groups have been calling for the release of Humaidan. The US-based Human Rights Watchdog (HRW) says Humaidan was merely covering the anti-government protests that erupted in mid-February 2011.

In June, deputy director HRW’s Middle East and North Africa, Joe Stork, said that “throwing photographers in jail isn’t going to keep either the protests or the accounts of what happens in Bahrain out of the world’s sight”.

Nearly a dozen local and international organizations have recently signed an open letter, calling on the Al Khalifa regime to dismiss all charges against Humaidan.

Also on Sunday, anti-government protesters gathered to call for the immediate release of the imprisoned photographer. The demonstrators released sky lanterns and held placards in the island of Sitra in support of the jailed reporter.

UK-based rights group Amnesty International has also repeatedly voiced concerns over Bahrain’s crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

A large number of activists have been given long jail terms or the death penalty for their opposition to the Al Khalifa regime. However, none of the measures have prevented the opposition from pursuing their democratic demands.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

JR/AB