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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

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Close up of Abdulhadi al  Khawaja

Detained Since: April 9, 2011.

Charges: Financing and participating in terrorism to overthrow the government. Spying for a foreign country.

Sentence: Life in prison.

Biography: Abdulhadi al-Khawajahas been a well-known human rights defender for more than twenty years. Until February 2011, al-Khawaja worked as a regional coordinator for the international organization Front Line Defenders.

Just before his current detention, Mr. al-Khawaja had publicly criticized the regime's brutal response to the anti-government protests in Bahrain. Early on April 9, 2011, fifteen masked men stormed into al-Khawaja's apartment, breaking down the door with a sledgehammer and beat al-Khawaja until he lost consciousness. He was taken into custody along with his two sons-in-law. Authorities held him incommunicado for several weeks and tortured him. On May 8, 2011, al-Khawaja's trial began before the National Safety Court – a military tribunal. He was prosecuted along with a diverse set of twenty other individuals. Despite the lack of evidence against him, Mr. al-Khawaja was charged and convicted with financing and participating in terrorism to overthrow the government, as well as spying for a foreign country. On June 22, 2011, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. On April 2, 2012, the Bahraini Court of Cassation began to review the verdicts of Mr. al-Khawaja and thirteen other defendants charged in relation to the 2011 anti-government protests. On April 30, 2012, the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial in civilian court and refused to release al-Khawaja on bail pending the trial. On September 4, 2012, a Bahraini appeals court upheld his sentence of life in prison. On January 7, 2013, Bahrain's highest appeals court upheld al-Khawaja's conviction and life sentence.

al-Khawaja has suffered four fractures to his face, requiring a four hour surgery to repair his jaw as a result of beating by security guards. He has also been subjected to sexual and psychological torture. On February 8, 2012, al-Khawaja began a hunger strike to protest his wrongful detention and treatment in prison. He ended his hunger strike after 110 days on May 30, 2012. During his hunger strike, al-Khawaja's health deteriorated and he reportedly lost 22 pounds.

Advocacy Partner:Reporters Without Borders

Advocate:Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)

Updates:

  • Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was arrested in March 2016 along with her 15 month old son. She was released in May 2016 on humanitarian grounds (May 31, 2016, The Guardian).
  • Khawaja began a hunger strike on April 12 in a Manama prison to protest the 'arbitrary detention and degrading treatment of prisoners in Bahrain' (April 27, 2017, Gulf Times).
  • Al-Khawaja suspended his hunger strike on its 24th day following strong recommendations during Bahrain’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations (May 5, 2017, Gulf Center for Human Rights).
  • Since October 16 2017, al-Khawaja has faced increased reprisals including having his belongings confiscated. On 10 November 2017, the prison authorities restricted all access to television, radio, books, and there are no independent newspapers available. Additionally, prisoners, including al-Khawaja, lost access to pens or paper, and all daily activities were cancelled (December 19, 2017, FIDH).
  • Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and other imprisoned human rights defenders have been informed that all subsequent family visits in Jaw Prison will be carried out behind a glass wall. Imposing the glass barrier on human rights defenders is a form of collective punishment that violates human rights law such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) (January 17, 2019, Gulf Center for Human Rights).
  • On the 8th anniversary of the Pearl Uprising, Rep. James P. McGovern inserted remarks into the Congressional Record calling on the government of Bahrain to release Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and other prisoners of conscience and reform policies that risk fostering extremism (February 14, 2019, Congressional Record).
  • Front Line Defenders launched the ‘Set Them Free’ campaign to shine a light on the fate of 11 human rights activists, includng Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, suffering long-term imprisonment for "their legitimate work defending and advancing the rights of their communities" (October 3, 2019, Breaking News).
  • The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor sent a communication to the government of Bahrain expressing concern for the allegations of torture, and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment faced by Mr. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Mr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, and Mr. Naji Ali Fateel (July 8, 2021, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders).
  • On March 1, 2023, Al-Khawaja was rushed to the emergency room by ambulance after experiencing elevated, rapid heartbeats the evening before. He was told by the emergency room doctor that he must be seen immediately by a cardiologist, but was denied access to a cardiologist and was returned to Jau Prison (March 3, 2023, Frontline Defenders).
  • Ahead of the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly held in Bahrain in March 2023, 22 human rights organizations submitted a joint statement to the parliamentarians, which called for parliamentarians to raise human rights issues in the country with officials during their visit and to push for the release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Dr. Abduljalil al-Singace, Naji Fateel, Sheikh Ali Salman, and other prisoners of conscience (March 6, 2023, Human Rights Watch).
  • On June 1, 2023
  • On August 18, 2023, 15 civil society organizations submitted a letter to the UK Government, calling for them to press Bahraini authorities to release all prisoners of conscience, including Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, as well as to ensure all prisoners have adequate access to medical treatment and humane conditions while in prison, as demanded by the prisoners on hunger strike in Jau Prison (August 18, 2023, Front Line Defenders; Human Rights First). On August 22, 2023, 16 civil society organizations submitted a similar letter to the European Union (August 22, 2023, Front Line Defenders).
  • On September 1, 2023, Human Rights Watch called on the government of Bahrain to address the demands of the mass hunger strike, and, in particular, the demands of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace (September 1, 2023, Human Rights Watch).
  • On September 15, 2023, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor expressed concern for the well-being of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, and Naji Fateel, and called for them to immediately be granted access to adequate medical treatment (September 15, 2023, OHCHR).
  • Ahead of the Danish Prime Minister's June 5, 2023 visit to the United States, 21 human rights organizations sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to raise Al-Khawaja's case during the visit and discuss possible avenues of "mutual collaboration on the case" with the Prime Minister (June 1, 2023, FIDH).
  • On February 19, 2024, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja's daughter, Maryam, announced that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and called on the government of Denmark to do more to secure her father's release (February 19, 2024, Associated Press).
  • On February 29, 2024, 31 human rights organizations called on Formula 1 to "launch an independent inquiry to evaluate its impacr on the human rights situation in Bahrain" in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the first Grand Prix held in Bahrain, citing the cases of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Dr. Al-Singace, among others (February 29, 2024, DAWN).
  • On March 1, 2023, following Maryam Al-Khawaja's announcement revealing that she had cancer, Human Rights Watch released a statement calling for the European Union to do more to secure Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja's release, stating that the EU had "failed" both him and his daughter (March 1, 2024, Human Rights Watch).
  • Maryam Al-Khawaja highlighted her father's case during a March 2024 interview about her advocacy with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (March 19, 2024, Electronic Frontier Foundation).

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