DUBAI: Bahrain yesterday announced tougher jail sentences for offending H M King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as the country prepares to mark the third anniversary of a Shia-led uprising.
An amendment to the 1976 penal code says that “publicly offending the King of Bahrain, its national flag or emblem” will carry a minimum one-year and a maximum seven-year sentence, as well as a fine of up to $26,000, state news agency BNA reported.
The sentence can exceed seven years if the “offence was committed in the presence of the king,” the report added, without providing details. Previously, the same charges carried a minimum sentence of only a few days.
In 2012, a criminal court jailed two activists for one and four months, respectively, after their conviction for posting on Twitter remarks deemed insulting to the king.
Meanwhile, the Manama criminal court sentenced 23 Shias to five years in jail for attacks with petrol bombs and taking part in an unlicenced protest. Another Shia was jailed for three years.
At least 89 people have been killed in since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
AFP
