Five Bahrainis have been jailed for a year each for defaming His Majesty King Hamad on Twitter, a report said.

They include a teacher, a lawyer and two brothers who are students, according to the report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

All of them were convicted in separate cases by the Lower Criminal Court yesterday, despite pleading not guilty.

A third brother, who is believed to be abroad, was acquitted by the same court due to lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, the trial of another Bahraini accused of the same charge is still ongoing. – TradeArabia News Service