MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A lawyer for prominent Bahrain rights activist Nabeel Rajab says a court will issue verdicts in four cases pending against him on Thursday.

Attorney Mohammed al-Jishi says a court announced Sunday that it will rule on Rajab's appeal over a three-month sentence he is currently serving for anti-government comments he made on Twitter. It will also rule on three other cases against him for allegedly calling for and participating in an illegal gathering.

Rajab is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. His prosecution has emboldened the country's mostly Shiite demonstrators who for 18 months have protested for greater rights in the Gulf island kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Rights groups and nearly 20 U.S. lawmakers have called for Rajab's immediate release.