Bahrain political activist faces new incitement charges

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A human rights group says a prominent Bahraini political activist is facing new charges of “inciting hatred” against the government.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said Monday that activist Ebrahim Sharif told the Britain-based group that he was charged following interrogation over Twitter posts covering several topics. He was released after questioning.

Authorities had no immediate comment.

Sharif is the former head of Waad, a secular, leftist political party. It is fighting a government lawsuit to dissolve it as part of a wider crackdown on dissent in the island kingdom.

Sharif was imprisoned for more than four years for his role in widespread 2011 protests demanding government reforms. He was arrested weeks after his 2015 release and locked up for a year.