Family of jailed Bahraini activist Rajab 'worried'

The wife of jailed Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab has told the BBC she is "very worried" about him. Sumaya Rajab said she had been told by a relative of another prisoner that he had been moved from his cell. She said this happened after Mr Rajab called her on Tuesday telling her he had seen young prisoners being beaten. However, prison authorities have denied the claims. Mr Rajab has served nearly 12 months of a two-year term for encouraging "illegal gatherings". The 48-year-old human rights activist has been one of the leaders of pro-democracy protests that have rocked the Gulf island kingdom since February 2011. Mrs Rajab said she met with the head of the prison on Wednesday, who told her that her husband "is OK and he is in his cell." But she said when she asked to see him "even for two minutes to see he was alright" her request was refused. A government spokesperson contacted by the BBC confirmed that Mr Rajab had not been moved, and said that his wife could see him at a regularly scheduled visit next Monday.Another prominent human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja, who was jailed for three months in March, was sentenced last week to an additional three months in prison on a charge related to an illegal gathering, as authorities and the courts continue a crackdown on protest. Her father Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is currently serving a life sentence for plotting the overthrow of the government on evidence that is widely accepted as having been secured under torture. Both he and his daughter have been refused family visits for refusing to wear prison uniforms. In another case, a lawyer was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail after being held responsible for "offensive" tweets attacking King Hamad and the ruling al-Khalifa family.