Bahrain Mirror: Index on Censorship, an international organization concerned with freedom of expression, called for the immediate release of the Bahraini opposition leader and former secretary-general of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad), Ebrahim Sharif.

In a statement issued on (February 25, 2015), Index said that a Bahraini court sentenced Ibrahim Sharif to one year in prison over a speech made in 2015 calling for change in the kingdom, explaining that Sharif was convicted on a charge of inciting hatred while acquitted on charges of promoting the toppling of Bahrain's government.

Sharif's lawyer, Sami Sayadi, stated that he plans to appeal the ruling, and that he believed the time his client had already served would count toward his sentence.

Sharif was first sentenced to five years in prison and was released on a royal pardon in June 2015. A month after his release, the authorities re-arrested him after a speech he delivered in July during the annual martyrdom commemoration of 16-year-old Hussam Al-Haddad, who was killed at the hands of security forces in 2012.

Index further stated that "Sharif criticized the government for using violence to put down demonstrators, who were engaged in peaceful protests" as Sharif said: "In our case, there is no going back to building a wall of fear. The government is only strong when we are cowards and is weak when we are courageous."

Speaking to Index on Censorship before the verdict, his wife Farida Ghulam said: "Unfortunately, based on the last seven months of trials, it seems that the government is unwilling to entertain the basic right of freedom of speech and that Ebrahim may be sentenced again."

Arabic Issue