Enough is enough: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has waited long enough for justice

Enough is enough: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has waited long enough for justice
11 April, 2012 – IRCT

The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) today reiterated its calls for the immediate release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, now on his 63rd day of hunger strike. The call comes following a visit to al-Khawaja by an IRCT doctor in recent days.

As a result of the hunger strike, al-Khawaja is in extremely poor health.

The IRCT doctor, a European Union citizen, was joined in assessing al-Khawaja by an Egyptian Doctor. The resulting report will be the first medical report on his condition since his hunger strike began.

The medical report on al-Khawaja’s current condition is being finalised and will be sent to the Bahraini authorities upon completion. The Bahraini authorities will then make this report public, as agreed with the doctors.

Prior to his recent hunger strike, Mr al-Khawaja was already a documented survivor of torture. The Bahraini state is therefore ultimately responsible for his current condition.

“He is therefore in need of holistic rehabilitation,” said Scott McAusland of the IRCT.

“And of course, the perpetrators of his torture must be held to account by the Bahraini authorities,” added McAusland.

For more information:
Please see our previous press release (“IRCT calls on Bahrain to immediately release human rights defender” 17 February 2012) regarding Mr al-Khawaja here.

Media contact
Scott McAusland, IRCT Head of Communications
+45 36 93 87 32
sma@irct.org

About The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims is an independent non-profit global organisation with a membership of 144 rehabilitation centres in 73 countries and with over 25 years’ experience.

The work of the IRCT is threefold:
* Rehabilitation of torture victims and their families
* Ensuring victims’ access to justice
* Eradication of torture

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