FILE PHOTO: Human rights activists, Zainab al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab (L) talk during their meeting with activists after al-Khawaja's release from prison, Manama, Bahrain, June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)Courts in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Monday upheld the convictions of two prominent human rights activists serving lengthy prison terms for expressing anti-government dissent on social media, according to lawyers and human rights groups. In the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Supreme Court on Monday upheld Mansoor’s 10-year sentence for “defaming” the country on social media, according to Human Rights Watch. In the weeks before his arrest last year, Mansoor, 49, had “criticized the UAE’s prosecution of activists for speech related offenses” and posted messages on Twitter highlighting human rights abuses elsewhere in the region, Human Rights Watch said. Mansoor is a past recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, which is given annually by a jury composed of 10 leading international human rights groups.

Source: Washington Post December 31, 2018 22:10 UTC