Mahdi Abu Deeb

Deeb was released from jail on 5 April 2016, after serving five years.

Deeb was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Al-Salman was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. On 12 December, Deeb's first hearing at the Supreme Court of Appeal was postponed to 19 February 2012, when it was postponed again to 2 April. In his third hearing, Deeb reported to the judge that he had been tortured, including being exposed to a number of fake executions and electric shocks. The hearing was postponed to 2 May.

On 21 September 2012, his sentence was reduced by an appeals court from ten years to five years. On 1 July 2013, Abu Deeb's request that his sentence not be enforced until his torture allegations were investigated was rejected by the Court of Cassation.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights issued a joint statement that they were "deeply concerned" by the "politicised sentence", also noting that the trial of civilians by a military tribunal was a violation of Bahraini law. On 7 January 2012, A number of Bahrain opposition political parties organized a sit-in expressing solidarity with Deeb and demanding his immediate release "as the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report has recommended". The Arab Teachers' Union demanded Deeb's immediate release, asking the government to respect international laws.

On 15 March 2012, the Parliament of the European Union called for "the immediate and unconditional release of all peaceful demonstrators, political activists, human rights defenders, doctors and paramedics, bloggers and journalists" in Bahrain, naming Deeb's case as a specific example of a prisoner who had "been detained or convicted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly or complying with their professional obligations". The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also began an inquiry into Deeb's case, to which a Bahraini ambassador responded by enumerating the charges against Deeb and noting that he had "been afforded all judicial guarantees" and had the right to an appeal. The Office's Special Rapporteur on torture described this response as insufficient, noting that the Bahraini government's formal response "did not address the allegation of torture or ill-treatment at all".

In February 2011, large-scale pro-democracy protests began in Bahrain as part of the international Arab Spring. During the period between 19 February 2011 and 16 March when authorities allowed protests in the Pearl Roundabout, BTA played an important role in the uprising; they shared demands with the protesters and pressured the government to achieve them. Deeb was there almost daily. "He would leave home in the morning and come back late at night. If he wasn't at Pearl, he was meeting people about schools," his eldest daughter Maryam said. On 20 February, the BTA called for a three-day strike demanding reforms in Bahrain's educational system and protesting killing and suppression of activists, of whom students made up a high percentage. More than five thousand teachers participated in the strike. When the martial law was imposed on 16 March, BTA called for another strike, this one lasting ten days.

After seven failed attempts to arrest him, Deeb was finally arrested on 6 April, where he was thrown to the ground from the second story of his cousin's house. He was then allegedly beaten by the remaining group on site and during his transportation to prison. His cousin, Sa'aed Ali Muhanna was also arrested and later released on August 2011.

Mahdi Abu Deeb studied art at University of Baghdad. Later he became a teacher. In 2001, Deeb was promoted by the Ministry of Education to take responsibly for outlining the arts study program and courses offered by government schools. He founded the BTA in the same year to empower teachers' role and equity, and was elected its president. In 2009, he received a PhD in education from Arabian Gulf University. In 2010, he was elected Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Teachers' Union.

Mahdi Isa Mahdi Abu Deeb (Arabic: مهدي عيسى مهدي أبو ديب ‎) (born 30 December 1962) is the founder and leader of Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA), and Assistant Secretary-General of Arab Teachers' Union. Due to his role in the Bahraini uprising, he was arrested, allegedly tortured, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His sentence was later reduced to five years by an appeals court. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience.