102 Human Rights Defenders express support for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

Bahrain: 102 Human rights defenders express support for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja
Posted on 2011/04/21

Today 102 human rights from across the Middle East and North Africa region issued a statement of support for imprisoned human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain.

Full Text of Statement:

We condemn in the strongest terms the use of excessive violence during his arrest, without a judicial warrant, along with his two sons in law, Mr. Wafi Almajid and Mr. Hussein Ahmed, followed by their detention in an unidentified location and to trial Mr. Al-Khawaja before a military court. We strongly emphasize that the arbitrary measures taken against him are a direct result of his human rights work. We believe that these massive violations constitute strong evidence that the government of Bahrain works contrary to all human rights laws.

Al-Khawaja is not only a distinguishable and well-respected human rights figure in our region, but rather on the international level as well. Consequently, the way in which the authorities in Bahrain have treated Al-Khawaja reflects their disregard for human rights values and their adoption of hostile measures against the work that HRDs contribute to human rights in general, and the work which Al-Khawaja contributes, being one of the most prominent HRDs, in particular.

We hold the authorities in Bahrain responsible for all these blatant violations of human rights and demand that the perpetrators be referred to the competent courts immediately. We further hold the authorities responsible for ensuring the safety of Al-Khawaja and we call for his immediate release along with the detained members of his family. …more