Well-known Bahrain activist sentenced in absentia to one-year in prison
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A top Bahraini prosecutor says that the country's higher criminal court has sentenced well-known activist Maryam al-Khawaja to one year in prison for assaulting police officers during questioning.
Al-Khawaja was tried in absentia. The dual Danish-Bahraini national left to Copenhagen soon after a travel ban against her was lifted in October.
Prosecutor Abdullah Al-Dosari said in a statement Monday the court found her guilty of an assault on police personnel that led to injuries.
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The 27-year-old said in a statement that she had expected to be sentenced on what she called "trumped up charges" of assaulting the policewomen at Bahrain's International Airport in August.
She spent three weeks in jail for the incident. Her father is serving a life sentence for his role in Shiite-led protests against the Sunni monarchy.