Letter to US Ambassador in Bahrain sent on April 5; Khawaja’s 56th day of hunger strike

Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski,

Sir,

We are writing this letter to you on behalf of the people of Bahrain to express our deep concern with the deteriorating health of world-renowned human rights defender Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, who has been on hunger strike for the past 56 days in Bahrain demanding nothing more than freedom.

Mr. AlKhawaja was arrested April last year. He was beaten so brutally at the time of arrest that it resulted to fractures on his face and jaw which left permanent damage. His case is mentioned in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report as Case No. 8, where it was proved that he was subjected to severe torture on a nightly basis and put in solitary confinement for two months. Mr. AlKhawaja was then sentenced to life imprisonment in an unfair military trial along with 13 other opposition leaders, accused with baseless charges of financing and participating in terrorism to overthrow the government, as well as spying for a foreign country.

As of the last few days, Mr. AlKhawaja has given up glucose and thus has been hospitalized due to a significant deterioration in his health. Doctors have told his family they expect him to fall asleep into a permanent coma. The Bahraini authorities refuse to acknowledge the severity of Mr. AlKhawaja’s case. More than 50 rights groups have called for his release, yet there has been no response from the government.

Yesterday we attempted to conduct a sit-in at your headquarters in Manama urging the U.S government for actions towards Mr. AlKhawaja’s release, yet we were forced to leave, some of who were even arrested. Sir, isn’t that a violation of our basic freedoms? Shouldn’t you be allowing us to practice the rights you stand for? The United States government, which has proved to be a beacon of democracy and freedoms throughout the years, is surprisingly ignoring this dying man’s plea.

You must acknowledge that if anything happens to Mr. AlKhawaja, the situation in Bahrain will get much worse. It is to everyone’s best interest for him to be released and transferred to Denmark for treatment. We are writing to urge you to pressure the Bahraini government for his immediate release not only because he is a human rights defender, but because he is simply a human who’s life and freedom is of great value to us, and should be to you as well.

We hope you will exercise the needed pressure on the Bahraini authorities for Abdulhadi AlKhawaja’s immediate and unconditional release.

Thank you for your consideration,

Letter from the people of Bahrain

…source

Twitter: angry arabiya ‏ @angryarabiya: In todays call, we cud no longer hear my fathers smile in his voice…

Free Alkhawaja! ‏ @KhawajaStrike It’s 1am in #Bahrain. #AlKhawaja has turned 51 while entering his 57th day of hunger strike. Doctors say he can’t survive for much longer.

Bahrain transfers jailed activist on hunger strike to prison clinic for observation
By Associated Press – 4 April, 2012 – Washington Post

MANAMA, Bahrain, — An imprisoned Bahraini human rights activist, who has been on a hunger strike for more than 50 days has been moved to a prison clinic for medical observation and care, authorities said Wednesday.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is serving a life sentence for his role in last year’s uprising in the Gulf kingdom. He was arrested last April during a crackdown against anti-government protests led by Bahrain’s Shiite majority that has been demanding greater rights from the island nation’s Sunni rulers.

Al-Khawaja, who is also a Danish citizen, has been refusing food since Feb. 8.

Bahrain’s opposition supporters have been rallying for his release almost daily. Another protest is planned for later Wednesday.

Last week, Amnesty International urged Bahrain to free him because of fears he could die. On Tuesday, the Danish government said it has been “exerting maximum efforts” to have al-Khawaja sent to Denmark for medical treatment.

A government statement on Wednesday said the prison’s rehabilitation official recommended the day before that al-Khawaja be transferred to the clinic “for constant medical observation and care.”

It said that medical tests have showed al-Khawaja has lost “approximately 10 kilograms and was showing signs of low hemoglobin, although not at a critical level.” It gave no further details on his health.

Al-Khawaja is one of seven opposition figures who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a special security court, which was set up after Bahrain imposed martial law last March to quell political unrest in the tiny, but strategically important nation.

Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Hundreds of other Bahrainis including protesters, activists, athletes and Shiite professionals such as doctors and nurses have been tried in the court. Dozens were jailed after being convicted of anti-state crimes, including medics who treated injured protesters during the unrest.

Bahrain lifted martial law in June. The special tribunal was disbanded in November and all protest-related trial were transferred to civilian courts. Al-Khawaja’s lawyers appealed his conviction in Bahrain’s highest court on Monday when judges refused to release him on bail. …more

US Marines Arrive in Australia
Phil Mercer – VOA – 4 April, 2012

United States Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment complete quarantine checks as they arrive at a Royal Australian Air Force Base in Darwin, April 4, 2012.
Photo: Reuters
United States Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment complete quarantine checks as they arrive at a Royal Australian Air Force Base in Darwin, April 4, 2012.

U.S. Marines have started to arrive in northern Australia as Washington strengthens its presence in the strategically vital Asia-Pacific region. Two hundred troops touched down in Darwin late Tuesday as part of a deployment outlined during a visit to Australia by President Obama in November, a move that has irritated China.

The detachment is the first batch of an expected deployment of 2,500 military personnel to be posted to northern Australia.

The troops are based in Australia’s Northern Territory on a six-month rotational basis and will be stationed at Robertson Barracks on the outskirts of Darwin.

The Australian government says the arrangement was the latest chapter in a six-decade military alliance with the United States.

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith says the stationing of U.S. Marines in Darwin is in the interests of global peace and stability.

“The world is to essentially comes to grips with the rise of China, the rise of India, the move of strategic and political and economic influence to our part of the world and we need to ensure that we do that in a way in which the international community responds to that change, manages that change and we believe very strongly that what we are doing will enhance that rather than detract from it,” he said.

Australia is keen to stress that the U.S. military presence will only be temporary and that there are no plans for any permanent American bases on its soil. U.S. officials also say that they want to expand their disaster relief capabilities in Southeast Asia. …more

After being held at Cairo’s main airport for hours, celebrated Bahraini human rights worker Maryam Al-Khawaja makes downtown conference to relate continued abuses of protesters by the island state’s government

Visiting Bahraini activist Al-Khawaja tells of state-led torture and killings
3 April, 20120 – Osman El Sharnoubi – ahram.online

Al-Khawaja is a human rights activist and head of the foreign relations office for the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), co-founded by her father, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. He is presently serving a life sentence in Bahrain for anti-state crimes.

After landing in Cairo airport, Al-Khawaja was initially denied entry due to being “blacklisted and banned,” said Al-Khawaja on her Twitter account citing the Bahraini embassy. However, her lawyer was able to get her through customs hours later.

Al-Khawaja and another Bahraini student activist, Iman Oun, each spoke at the conference held Monday afternoon about the Bahraini uprising and current conditions in the island kingdom.

Al-Khawaja started by relating the recent developments in the recent Bahraini protest movement, which began in February 2011.

The state continues to carry out systematic violations of human rights even after the government initiative, known as the “Bassiouni report”, which supposedly investigated these abuses, was published, Al-Khawaja explained.

The Bassiouni report, or the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) was a government sponsored probe into the events of February and March 2011. It was published in a few months later in November last year.

The BICI said it found cases of abuse and torture by regime forces as well as, allegedly, violence on the part of protesters to be true.

Al-Khawaja refutes the regime’s assertion that reforms are being implemented following recommendations by the BICI. Claims that individual rights, human rights and freedoms are being respected are false, the Bahraini activist said. In contrast, Al-Khawaja added, they have increased.

She continued by asserting that excessive use of force, torture and killings are perpetrated daily by security and intelligence forces with impunity.

She mentioned the story of a 16-year-old boy who was, reportedly, sexually abused and tortured for refusing to work as an informant. When the boy decided to press charges against the security apparatus, he was tried for submitting a false report.

One of the main problems, believes Al-Khawaja, is the lack of accountability.

Officials committing crimes, even when acknowledged by the government in the BICI, are not held accountable but on the contrary, she added, they are lauded and even promoted. …more

‘Al Khalifa regime proves worse than Israel’
PressTV – 4 April, 2012

The health of prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has worsened as he entered the 55th day of his hunger strike in jail.

His daughter Maryam al-Khawaja says there are now fears that Abdulhadi may go into a coma any time. He is being held despite mounting popular calls for his release.

On Tuesday, a group of Bahraini women held a sit-in outside the US embassy in Manama, against al-Khawaja’s detention.

Press TV talks with Dominic Kavakeb, with the Bahrain Justice and Development Movement from London, regarding the issue. What follows is a transcript of the interview.

Press TV: Mr. Khawaja has been on a hunger strike for the past 55 days. We know his condition is deteriorating and there is a growing concern that he may die in prison but the regime in Bahrain is refusing to release him.

At the same time, a Palestinian woman Hana Shalabi who was on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail for the past 44 days was released a few days ago. The comparison might point to the fact that the situation for Mr. Khawaja in a Bahraini jail is worse than Hana Shalabi’s conditions in an Israeli prison.

Kavakeb: Yes, I think it is a real shame for Bahrain that really Israel seems to be more lenient in this case than Bahrain itself. It is really quite worrying for Bahrain and embarrassing.

As you say, he is now entering the 55th day of his hunger strike and he is still being refused to be released and I think it shows just how important leaders and activists like Abdulhadi al-Khawaja are for the Bahraini people there.

The government will refuse to release them because they know how important they are, what characters they are and how they can inspire the population into protesting. So it does not look like they are going to release him at the moment.

There was another appeal today but he is still behind bars and it is looking increasingly dangerous for his life now, as you said.

Press TV: Despite the pressures and the brutal clampdown, the protests are continuing in Bahrain. How far do you think the revolutionaries will keep up with their demands?

Kavakeb: They will keep up with their demands until they win their demands. I fundamentally believe that and I think they made that clear over the past year by continuously coming out to protest, despite that in face of the huger pressure, etc. that continues to come out onto the streets.

So there is no reason to think that they will stop until they achieve the democratic change that they are fighting for and I think Abdulhadi al-Khawaja really exemplifies the fact that this is now, as you say, 55 days of hunger strike and he is still continuing to pursue it.

And there is no doubt at the moment and he will do that; he will keep going, as he said, until death or freedom. Those are his words and that really sums up the mood of the Bahraini people. …more