Verdict against FYC man upheld

Manama

The High Criminal Appeals Court has upheld the verdict issued against a prominent figure in the Al Fateh Youth Coalition (FYC). Yaqoub Al Slaise was earlier found guilty before the Lower Criminal court of defaming the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) online. He, however, escaped jail time, with the court fining him BD200.

The FYC spokesman was arrested for his controversial post on Twitter on June 7, 2014 claiming that the BDF "influences its employees in the parliamentarian election process".

He was arrested and kept in police custody for several days before a remand judge released him on bail.

The coalition had accused the decision to detain Yaqoub as a curtailment of his freedom of speech.

The defendant stated during interrogations that he as any Bahraini citizens doesn't accept insulting the Bahraini armed forces or any other public institutions.