Bahrain upholds life sentence for prominent human rights defender
On September 28, Bahrain’s military court upheld its verdict of life imprisonment for longtime IMS partner and former president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja
The appeal case follows the life sentence which al-Khawaja received in Bahrain in June accused of “plotting to overthrow the regime.”
Al-Khawaja who holds dual Bahraini and Danish citizenship was detained alongside 21 others by the Bahraini authorities on April 8 following his participation in demonstrations against the regime.
The current president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, calls for further pressure from the Danish government for the release of al-Khawaja and the others who were arrested alongside him:
-“Al-Khawaja should not get a life sentence – let alone even spend a day in jail. He has done what all should have the right to do – promoted freedom of speech. The Danish government is well-connected, both with the Bahraini government and at the EU level. I urge the Danish government to do what they can to push for a release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.”
Alongside al-Khawaja’s daughter Maryam, Nabeel Rajab continued to urge for the release of al-Khawaja in the days leading up to and following the appeal case verdict.
-“We need concrete action on both Danish and international levels for the release of the imprisoned journalists and human rights defenders in Bahrain”, says Executive Director of IMS, Jesper Højberg.
-“Like other areas in the Arab world, the people in Bahrain demands reform. Denmark and other western countries must openly and directly support their fight for human rights and press freedom just as we have done for countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.”
Human rights situation worsening in Bahrain
Since protests broke out in Bahrain in spring, demonstrators have been met with force from the Bahraini authorities. According to Nabeel Rajab, the Bahraini media is not helping:
“The situation in Bahrain is getting increasingly worse. More human rights activists are being arrested. No one trusts local media’s coverage of the on-going demonstrations as these media are all affiliated with the government. I have reverted to only using social media, especially Twitter, to communicate with fellow human rights activists, media and the Bahraini public in general.”
Al-Khawaja’s arrest in April and the following verdict in June caused international outrage with both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International calling for his release.
With al-Khawaja’s Danish citizenship the Danish authorities have insisted on gaining access to the court hearings and to be allowed to visit him in prison, but this effort has remained unsuccessful so far.
Al-Khawaja led the IMS-supported Arab Working Group’s monitoring of the Bahraini media’s coverage of the country’s elections in October 2010.
