(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A Bahraini appeals court has refused to release human rights activist Nabeel Rajab on bail as requested by his lawyers, judicial sources say.

The court said on Monday that the next hearing would be held on September 27.

The Fifth Minor Criminal Court in Manama sentenced Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to three months in jail for allegedly “insulting” the people of the Muharraq Island on Twitter in June.

The appeals court dropped the charges last month, but the activist will remain in jail to serve his three-year sentence he received on August 16 for taking part in "unauthorized" protests against Bahrain's monarchy.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International have called for Rajab’s immediate release, arguing that the activist has been jailed for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The sentence is "a dark day for justice in Bahrain," Amnesty said.

Bahrain's revolution began in mid-February 2011 when the people started holding massive demonstrations. The government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests.

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