Abdulhadi Alkhawaja’s courage after fifty days on hunger strike

My fears and Abdulhadi Alkhawaja’s courage after fifty days on hunger strike
30 March, 2012 – andrew’s blog – Frontline Defenders

It is increasingly difficult to find positives when your friend has been on hunger strike for 50 days and has declared that he will pursue it to freedom or death. The shadow of despair gnaws at your heart as the days grind by.

To begin with there is plenty to do, mobilising support and explaining the background. How Abdulhadi was arrested, brutally tortured and subjected to a show trial last year, and then sentenced to life in prison. How he is an internationally respected human rights defender who helped found the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, worked with Amnesty International and Mary Robinson and was named as ‘Activist of the Year’ in 2005 by the Arab Program for Human Rights Activists.

Thousands have sent messages of support and called on the Bahraini authorities to release him. Nobody internationally believes the ludicrous and unsubstantiated proposition that he was engaged in terrorism or a conspiracy to overthrow the Government by force.

And yet the days have dragged inexorably on, and we wait ever more anxiously for the latest news of his health. He has been taken to hospital on several occasions, but he is currently back in prison. He is reported to be physically weak, but resolute.

It is impossible not to admire the courage and determination that has sustained him in his quest for justice. It is impossible not to fear the damage already inflicted on his fragile body. It is impossible not to be angry at the callous indifference of his jailers who remain blind to the harm this ongoing tragedy does to the reputation of Bahrain.

The Danish Government has called publicly for his release on humanitarian grounds to receive medical treatment in the country of which he is a dual national. The EU and other European Governments including Ireland have supported these worthy efforts. The US Government insists it has also expressed concern.

And as we continue to mobilise international concern, and press the Bahraini authorities to recognise that this is a situation they have to resolve, the steadfast and dignified dedication of Abdulhadi’s family reminds us we must rise above despair and embrace hope.

I know that Abdulhadi does not seek death. He is a person full of hope and love for his family and his community, for human rights and justice. Let us celebrate the life of a good man whilst he still has life to celebrate. And redouble our efforts to Free Abdulhadi Alkhawaja! …source