Hunger Strike Over: Jailed Bahrain Democracy Dissidents

Jailed Bahrain activists end hunger strike – Hunger Strike Over: Jailed Bahrain Democracy Dissidents | DC

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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja said he has been force-fed by doctors during his hunger strike following Bahrain Protests

UN ‘deep disappointment’ with Bahrain as Bahrain GP says “Why is there unrest?” Bahrain Crown Prince was also named deputy PM while Bahrain sickle cell deaths jump. Yet importantly, it was just recently that Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja ended his 110-day hunger strike according to his wife. Khadija al-Mousawi told the BBC her husband started eating voluntarily on Monday evening.

Mr Khawaja, a Shia Muslim, is an outspoken critic of Bahrain’s ruling Sunni royal family and has been convicted of trying to depose them. Mr Khawaja’s decision follows the release on bail of another detained Bahraini activist, Nabeel Rajab. Mr Rajab was arrested on 5 May at Manama airport on his return from the Lebanese capital, Beirut. He is charged with using social networking sites to incite illegal rallies and defame Bahrain’s security forces.

Protest ‘success’

Mr Khawaja, 51, began his fast as a protest against his imprisonment after being sentenced by a military court in June 2011. Mrs Mousawi said he ended the hunger strike in part because he was being force-fed by two doctors at the prison where he is serving his sentence. He also faced pressure from friends and colleagues to cease the fast and felt the strike had achieved its goal of drawing the world’s attention to the anti-government movement in Bahrain, Mrs Mousawi added.

Mr Khawaja and 20 others were convicted of plotting to overthrow the state by the National Safety Court, a military tribunal. Seven of them, including Mr Khawaja, were sentenced to life. His activist daughter Zainab is also in jail, serving a one month sentence after she was accused of abusing a policewoman during a protest last month.

Nabeel Rajab is head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

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Also, according to the section on Abdulhadi at the mainBahrain Human Rights group:

In 2012, Abdulhadi and his family have been recognized for their courageous human rights work to promote freedom and democracy in Bahrain. On 20 September 2012, the US organization Freedom House recognized Abdulhadi, Maryam and Zaynab Al-Khawaja with its annual Freedom Award. Maryam Al-Khawaja accepted the award on behalf of the family – watch her speech at the award dinner. On 8 November, Maryam Al-Khawaja will receive the Stieg Larsson Prize in recognition of her and her family’s “courageous struggle for democracy and human rights.”