Nabeel Rajab

MANAMA — Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been taken to hospital with heart problems after spending more than two weeks in solitary confinement, his family said. 

Rajab is a vocal critic of the Bahraini government and led protests during the Arab Spring.

The activist has been placed in a coronary care unit and is “suffering from unprecedented heart problems after 15 days in solitary,” his family tweeted.

He will face trial for tweets he allegedly made about the Gulf Arab kingdom’s prison system and its involvement in the war in Yemen, his lawyer said on Sunday, and he could face up to 13 years in prison.

Rajab was arrested earlier this month on unspecified charges in what appears an escalating crackdown by the government that also included a court shutting down a main opposition society and a decision to strip the spiritual leader of the island’s Shi’a Muslim majority of his citizenship.

The case appears to relate to tweets he is alleged by the authorities to have made last year in which he suggested security forces had tortured detainees in a main prison and on a military campaign in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition which also includes Bahrain.

“He was notified of the referring of his case regarding Jaw prison and the Yemen war to the High Criminal Court for trial,” Jalila Sayed, Rajab’s lawyer, said in an e-mail to supporters.

“The first hearing will be on 12 July 2016. Nabeel may face up to 13 years of imprisonment if convicted in that case,” she added.

There was no immediate comment from Bahraini authorities regarding the case. 

Rajab has repeatedly been arrested since 2011 pro-democracy protests mainly by Bahraini Shi’a were repressed with help by Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom hosts the U.S.’s Fifth Fleet.