Bahrain court upholds jail for Shiite ex-MP over protests

Bahrain's appeals court upheld on Tuesday a 15-month jail sentence for a former Shiite opposition MP over his role in anti-regime protests in 2011, lawyers said. Jawad Fayruz, a leading member of Al-Wefaq, the largest opposition formation in the Gulf kingdom, was sentenced for taking part in unauthorised protests that broke out on February 14, 2011, before being brutally quelled a month after, lawyers said. He was also convicted of calling for protests without notifying authorities, but acquitted of inciting hatred against the regime of the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, and of spreading false information, lawyers said. In November, Fayruz and 30 other activists were stripped of their Bahraini citizenships over accusations of "jeopardising state security." Fayruz has been out of the country since before the decision to strip him of his nationality. Al-Wefaq once had the largest single bloc in Bahrain's elected chamber, holding 18 out of 40 seats before it decided to walk out in February 2011 in protest over violence used against demonstrations. It boycotted subsequent polls as tension continued in Bahrain, with ongoing protests in Shiite villages and frequent clashes between demonstrators and riot police. At least 80 people have died since the start of the unrest, according to the International Federation of Human Rights.