Abdulhadi Abdullah Hubail al-Khawaja ( Arabic: عبد الهادي عبد الله حبيل الخواجة ) is a Bahraini - Danish human rights defender. He is currently in prison in Bahrain after the suppression of pro-democratic protests during the Bahrain uprising . He is a former president [2] and co-founder [3] of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BHRC), a non-profit human rights non-governmental organization in Bahrain [4] . Al-Khawaja was actively involved and held important positions in regional and international human rights organizations.
| Abdulhadi al-Khawaja | |
|---|---|
 Abdulhadi al-Khawaja in February 2011 | |
| Date of Birth | April 5, 1961 (58 years old) |
| Place of Birth | |
| A country | |
| Occupation | human rights activist |
| Spouse | Khadija al-Musawi |
| Children | Maryam and Zainab [1] |
| Site | bahrainrights.org |
After graduating from high school in Bahrain in 1977, Abdulhadi al-Hawaja went to the UK to continue his studies. There, he participated in student activities that were a reaction to demonstrations and arrests in Bahrain. Bahrain authorities did not extend the validity of passports for many of their British students, urging them to return to their homeland. In the summer of 1980, after many fellow al-Khawaji fellow students who had returned home were detained and interrogated using torture, and his family home was ransacked, he decided to stay in the UK [5] .
In 1981, the Bahraini government launched an offensive against the opposition, claiming to have uncovered an attempted coup by the Islamic Front to liberate Bahrain. Hundreds of civilians, mostly students, including minors, were detained and tortured. 73 detainees appeared before the State Security Court (now abolished) on charges of membership in an illegal organization and an attempt to use violence, having received from 7 to 25 years in prison [5] .
In 1991, al-Khawaj was granted political asylum in Denmark. In 1992, he, along with other Bahraini political immigrants living in the Scandinavian countries and Great Britain, founded the Bahrain Human Rights Organization (BHRO), based in Denmark [5] . For the period 1992-2001, this organization gained authority at the international level, which contributed to political changes in Bahrain itself. When Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa became the new emir of Bahrain in 1999, al-Khawaja led the BHRO and returned to his homeland after 12 years of exile. In 2001, amid political reforms in Bahrain, a general political amnesty was declared. Al-Khawaja was one of the main founders and director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), officially registered in June 2002. Al-Khawaja was regularly subjected to physical attacks in his homeland, but all cases have not received a proper investigation.
On April 9, 2011, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was arrested and convicted as part of a repression campaign by the Bahrain authorities after pro-democracy protests during the Bahrain uprising . Front Line Defenders expressed concern for his life following allegations of torture and sexual violence in prisons. [6] Al-Khawaja was convicted on June 22, 2011, along with eight other activists, to life imprisonment [7] . On February 8, 2012, he began an indefinite hunger strike under the slogan “freedom or death,” protesting the ongoing detentions in Bahrain [8] . This action lasted 110 days, during which al-Khawaja was force-fed [9] .
His daughters - Maryam and Zaynab al-Khawaja - are also human rights defenders.
Notes
- ↑ ア ー カ イ ブ さ れ た コ ピ ー . Date of treatment May 1, 2012. Archived July 30, 2012.
- ↑ Another Bahraini Crime: Rights Activist's Jawbones Smashed Under Torture , Al-Manar (May 10, 2011). Archived March 3, 2016. Date of treatment November 4, 2016.
- ↑ About us , Business & Human Rights Resource Center. Date of treatment July 11, 2011.
- ↑ Bahrain Center for Human Rights website Archived July 21, 2011. .
- ↑ 1 2 3 BCHR: Bahraini Authorities Persistent Campaign Defaming Human Rights Defenders: Signals Possible Crackdown , Bahrain Center for Human Rights (September 9, 2007). Date of treatment November 4, 2016.
- ↑ Bahrain: Front Line fears for life of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja amid credible allegations of torture and sexual assault , Front Line (May 17, 2011). Archived December 5, 2011. Date of treatment July 11, 2011.
- ↑ “Bahrain rights activists jailed for life,” The Guardian, June 22, 2011 .
- ↑ Q&A: Bahraini activist Maryam Al Khawaja | Sbs news
- ↑ Bahrain activist Al-Khawaja to end hunger strike - lawyer . BBC News (May 28, 2012). Date of treatment November 4, 2016.