A Bahraini blogger has been remanded in custody for another 45 days for posting abusive remarks targeting Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Mohammad, Gulf News has reported.

The blogger, whose name has not been released, was detained last week for posting the “highly negative comments” in an online forum.

According to the public prosecutor, this is not the first time the 19-year-old used online forums to publish messages deemed insulting to the prophet and his companions. Ali Al Buainain says every time the defendant was banned from those forums he would join again using a different name to continue posting blasphemous messages.

The young Bahraini admitted the charges brought against him saying that his blasphemous remarks were prompted by insulting messages targeted at Shi'ite figures.

Following the arrest of the 19-year-old, local religious groups called for stricter sanctions against people who slander or insult Islamic figures.

Al Asala, the main voice of the Salafist movement in Bahrain, proposed a law last month stating the death penalty or life in prison for people found guilty of insulting Islamic figures.

Al Asala said there was an “alarmingly rising number of people" using social-networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to insult the Prophet and his wives before adding stricter legal sanctions needed to be applied.

“The competent authorities should apply the maximum penalty against him to ensure there is no repeat of attacks on the Prophet or his family or companions,” Gulf News quoted Khalid Al Malood, a lawmaker in the lower chamber, as saying. “We need to ensure that our society is genuinely protected from any form of sedition and this can be done by carrying out the maximum penalty,” he added.