10 Apr 12 | Middle East and North Africa
Increased anger within Bahrain’s opposition over the continued detention of well-known activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja has renewed concerns over whether Formula 1’s organising body should allow the controversial race to go ahead on 20-22 April.
Over the weekend, F1 teams expressed safety concerns, and called on the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to postpone the race. Last week, former champion driver Damon Hill also called on the body to reconsider the race. Hill said that it would be “bad for Formula 1, to be seen to be enforcing martial law in order to hold the race” and that allowing the race to continue “could be creating more problems than it’s solving.”
However, Bahraini officials have dismissed reports that the race will be canceled. Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa told the Gulf Daily News that “the race is going ahead — there is no doubt about that”.
FIA has only said that it is “monitoring” the situation, but some believe that a contingency plan already in place could mean that a decision to cancel could be made as late as this weekend.
Despite repeated calls for Alkhawaja’s release from international rights organisations and the Danish government, the activist remains in prison. Bahrain’s Supreme Judiciary Council on Sunday rejected a request from the Danish government to transfer the activist, who has Danish citizenship. According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, officials denied the handover because Bahraini law does not allow for “accused and convicted persons” to be transferred to another country.
Activists and family members have expressed concerns over Alkhawaja’s deteriorating health, as he is now entering his 62nd day on hunger strike. His daughter Zainab told Al-Jazeera that her father sounded “weak” when she spoke to him on the phone on Saturday. Mary Lawlor, executive director of Front Line Defenders, said that the activist is “at serious risk of imminent organ failure”. She reported that he has “shed 25 per cent of his body weight.”
Family members and officials have been unable to see Alkhawaja since 7 April, leading Alkhawaja’s lawyer to speculate that his client might already be dead. Danish Ambassador Christian König Feldt has also been denied permission to visit the activist. Despite alarming reports, Bahraini officials are denying that Alkhawaja’s health is deteriorating. They have said that he can converse normally and is “in good health.”
The UN has urged Bahrain to reconsider transferring Alkhawaja to Denmark on humanitarian grounds.
Following the government’s decision to reject the transfer of Alkhawaja, tensions have flared within Bahrain’s protests. On Monday, a blast from a homemade bomb during a protest for Alkhawaja in the village of Eker resulted in the wounding seven Bahraini policemen.
06 Apr 12 | Middle East and North Africa, Uncategorized
Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi AlKhawaja is now entering the 58th day of his hunger strike, having spent his 51st birthday yesterday in a prison clinic.
His lawyer has tweeted a picture of him in his weak and critical state, a far cry from the smiling and lively man that he once was, even though his principles remain unchanged. Mary Lawlor, executive director of Front Line Defenders, said that the activist is “at serious risk of imminent organ failure” after returning from a trip to Bahrain this week. She also reported that he has “shed 25 per cent of his body weight.” On 4 April he was transferred to a prison clinic for observation. Despite official documentation of his torture in prison and several calls for his release, Alkhawaja still remains imprisoned, serving a life sentence handed for peacefully protesting at Pearl Roundabout last year.
Alkhawaja’s daughters Zainab and Maryam credit their father for their commitment to human rights and peaceful tactics, and have inherited his passion and determination in speaking out against human rights violations in Bahrain. Both women have been careful to avoid focusing attention on a single individual, even as their father’s condition has worsened. They have recently decided to speak about their own family for a change, as his state is leading many to believe that Alkhawaja nearing the end of his life.
Maryam, who also serves as the Head of Foreign Relations for the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, wrote on Thursday that she finds it “difficult to remain impartial” and avoid focusing on more personal causes, but continues to persevere, fearing the moment when she will receive a phone call telling her her father is dead. Zainab recently wrote a poem about her father entitled, “The sultan digs my father’s grave,” in which she grimly describes watching her father dying. Despite feeling despair, she describes her father as being “tranquil” and pushing her to remain committed to fighting for human rights.
Several international human rights organisations have pushed on the Bahraini government to release the activist, who is also a Danish citizen. Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal called for his release or retrial by a civilian court back in March, yet such calls are still ignored.
AlKhawaja has become a symbol of a non-violent movement in the tiny country, and his death could solidify the already mounting disillusionment within Bahrain’s opposition. The country’s largest opposition group, Al-Wefaq, released a statement earlier this week condemning the activist’s continued detention, warning that his worsening condition would only inflame tensions and that “the regime is responsible for the consequences.” Lawlor, of Front Line Defenders, also warned of the grave consequences of Alkhawaja’s death in prison, stating that it would only “cause a great deal more unrest.”
What little faith there was in the government’s commitment to reform has been lost in many ways, and AlKhawaja’s release would only confirm that the royal family’s promises to carry out the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report served as nothing more than an elaborate exercise in public relations — rather than a commitment to human rights. AlKhawaja’s death would only ensure a deeper divide in an already polarised debate.
03 Apr 12 | Index Index, minipost
Bahraini authorities banned several books from the country’s international book fair, which was held between 22 March and 1 April. The Press and Publications Directorate, which is affiliated with the Information Affairs Authority, banned and confiscated all copies of the book “Political organisations and societies in Bahrain”, co authored by journalist Abbas Almurshid and human rights defender Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, who is currently on hunger strike. Another book by Almurshid, “Bahrain in the Gulf Gazetteer” was also banned by The Press and Publications Directorate. Other books removed from the fair include the novel “Jazaweyat” by Saudi author Fahad Fatik and “Wahhabism” by Saudi author Miqat AlRajehi.
03 Apr 12 | Index Index, minipost
A citizen journalist who was shot during a peaceful protest in Bahrain has died in hospital. Ahmed Ismael Hassan al-Samadi was shot in the thigh whilst filming tear-gas being fired on protesters near Bahrain’s capital. It is believed al-Samadi was targeted for having a video camera, by armed men who were accompanying security forces. Violence has intensified in Bahrain in the run up to the Grand Prix, which will take place later this month.
