Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
Friday 13 April 2012 by siawi3
The Women Human Rigts Defenders International Coalition
to
HM King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
Office of The King
The Amiri Court, Rifa’a Palace
PO Box 555
Manama
Bahrain 11th April 2012 Your Highness: The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) is deeply concerned about the health and welfare of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, a well-known and highly respected human rights defender who has been a strong and peaceful advocate for the rights of women in Bahrain and throughout the Middle East. He has been on hunger strike since the night of February 8/9 and is currently being held in the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Services hospital. The WHRD IC is especially concerned about reports that his health is deteriorating. We are also concerned for the welfare of his family, including his daughter Zainab Al-Khawaja, and their right to carry out their human rights activities free from harm. We urge the Bahraini authorities to release Abdulhadi to Denmark on humanitarian grounds, as per the request of the Foreign Minister of Denmark, so that he can receive treatment both for the effects of the hunger strike and the ongoing pain he suffers as a result of the torture he suffered during his detention (BICI report, Annex B, Case #8).
Your Majesty, we urge you to show statesmanship and grant Abdulhadi’s release from prison so that he may go to Denmark for urgent treatment. Thank you for your consideration.
The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) is a resource and advocacy network for the protection and support of women human rights defenders worldwide. This letter has been endorsed by:
Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Rights (UAF)
Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice (WIGJ)
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP)
WOREC Nepal
National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders (Nepal)
Isis International
BAOBAB for Human Rights
MADRE
Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL)
Front Line Defenders
INFORM Human Rights Documentation Center (Sri Lanka)
Coalition of African Lesbians
Heart & Hand Fund
Bahrain: Background for the campaign to liberate Al-Khawaja
Friday 13 April 2012 by siawi3
A letter from Maryam Al-Khawaja
April 12, 2012 4:01:13 PM EDT
Subject: Areas under attack, death from teargas, update on Abdulhadi Alkhawaja
Dear friends,
As I am writing this email, several areas are being heavily attacked by security forces who are using tear gas with stronger effects, bird pellet shotguns and Turkish APV’s: http://twitpic.com/98z4y8
Protester shot in the back with bird pellet shotgun: http://twitpic.com/98y0td
Abdulrasool Hassan Ismail’s son notified BCHR that his father died yesterday due to teargas suffocation.
Updates on human rights defender Abdulhadi Alkhawaja:
Prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja called his family, and said that his health deteriorated last night and he was informed by doctors that he might go into a coma. He was given IV, which has kept him conscious but weak.
Pomed: Dear Obama: Al-Khawaja must be released immediately: http://pomed.org/blog/2012/04/dear-obama-al-khawaja-must-be-released-immediately.html/#.T4ckSI7bcXx
Index on censorship “Free Abdulhadi Alkhawaja”: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/04/hunger-strike-abdulhadi-alkhawaja-bahrain-king/
BHRRC calls on Bahrain to release Abdulhadi Alkhawaja: http://t.co/V4jClu1K
12th April - Urgent appeal: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja may be on his deathbed (63th day on hunger strike): http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5049
UN: Bahrain should consider transferring striker: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5163
Enough is enough: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has waited long enough for justice http://www.irct.org/media-and-resources/irct-news/show-news.aspx?PID=13767&Action=1&NewsId=3552
Zainab Alkhawaja’s testimony about her last arrest: http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/4/8/bahrain-1st-hand-shes-filth-zainab-alkhawaja-on-her-detentio.html
Injuries in Protests:
A large protest taking place in the capital Manama today, was attacked by security force.
Picture that shows the heavy use of teargas in residential areas: https://twitter.com/#!/manama4all/status/190455884739125251/photo/1
Abu Sabai: https://twitter.com/#!/LillyJFL/status/190470608633597954/photo/1
Sitra, children sleeping in the bathroom to avoid the tear gas: https://twitter.com/#!/candel4u/status/189552620329897984/photo/1
7 year old Mohammed Hadi was in the ICU after inhaling tear gas while walking home from School in Duraz: https://twitter.com/#!/sorr0w/status/188946374484692992/photo/1
Woman getting arrested in one of the protests: http://i.imgur.com/bl5ys.jpg
Girl pepper sprayed after participating in peaceful protest: http://p.twimg.com/Ap53wJvCEAAAJyo.jpg
Alba roundabout injured were reportedly attacked based on sect under the protection and help of Bahrain’s MOI (Arabic): http://www.alwasatnews.com/3505/news/read/655330/1.html
Shotgun injury in Malkiya this afternoon. Contains graphic content: http://twitpic.com/98kxsh
A video taken by BCHR’s S. Yousif Almuhafda shows riot police shooting a tear gas canister directly on three girls: http://www.twitvid.com/I9I9P
Protester injured in the head with pellet shotgun in Malkiya today: http://twitpic.com/98kodx
Other Updates:
Lawyer Mohammed AlTajer says that 5 witnesses who came forward about 22 year old citizen journalist, Ahmed Ismail’s killing, have were arrested, tortured and threatened with rape.
13 detainees from Sitra in dry dock prison cell 3 on hunger strike protesting against their extracted confessions by officer Essa Almajali Athlete Khalil Ibrahim was sentenced to 6 month imprisonment starting today: https://twitter.com/#!/bahrain22/status/190402474312605696/photo/1
Riot police carrying and throwing molotov cocktails: http://twitpic.com/96uq4u, http://twitpic.com/96uszs
Maytham Ali Alshuwaikh was subjected to torture, his hand was broken when he was arrested 3 days ago at the station.
Reports
White House press statement on the situation in Bahrain: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/11/statement-press-secretary-situation-bahrain
CIHRS : BCHR’s President Nabeel Rajab was detained and deported from Cairo airport, Egypt. Nabeel’s laptop and mobile phone were confiscated and thoroughly searched: http://www.cihrs.org/?p=1983&lang=en
Bahrain Authorities continue to hold a detainee captive despite his urgent need for medical surgery: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5165
BPA: Journalist Ahmed Al-Bosta Attacked in Bahrain: http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5164
Swedish Anna Hagberg who formerly lived in Bahrain was deported yesterday for criticism and re-tweeting: http://nyheter24.se/nyheter/utrikes/article679130.ece
Interesting insight into Bahrain police discrimination by blogger Marc Owen Jones: http://marcowenjones.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/thugs-or-groupies-highlighting-issues-of-police-discrimination-in-bahrain/
Best,
— Maryam Al-Khawaja Head of International Office Tlf: +4581757959 Bahrain Center for Human Rights / Gulf Center for Human Rights
Bahrain: The government persecutes a family of human rights defenders
Friday 13 April 2012 by siawi3
Source: www.nazra.org info nazra.org
12 April 2012
Open Letter to the Government of Bahrain: Respect the Rights of Al-Khawaja Family
Maryam Al-Khawaja, a 24 year old woman human rights defender from Bahrain, has been doing extensive work on documenting human rights violations prior to and during the February 14th uprising in Bahrain. She is the head of international relations and advocacy officer at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and left Bahrain in March 2011 to testify about violations in Bahrain. She has not been able to go back to Bahrain since for the fear of detention and torture. Also, there was an attempt to ban her from entering Egypt on April 2nd, 2012 due to the fact that she is a prominent Bahraini woman human rights defender.
Moreover, Zainab Al-Khawaja, 28 years old, another daughter of Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja, the Bahraini human rights defender, has been detained several times, the last time was on April 5th, 2012 while she was on her way to the military hospital to see her father. In addition, Wafi Al-Majed, her husband who is not involved in politics was detained and tortured for 10 months just for being related to the family.
Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja is an internationally prominent human rights defender who was beaten unconscious in front of his family, detained, severely tortured, and tried before a military court and received a life sentence in prison accordingly on June 22nd, 2011. He decided to start a hunger strike on February 8th, 2012 following three other hunger strikes, which led to the deterioration of his health dramatically as he has been on a hunger strike for more than two months now. As women human rights defenders, Zainab and Maryam have been and continue to be subjected to harassment, detention and intimidation inside as well as outside of Bahrain.
We call on the Bahraini government to put an end to the violations against Zainab Al-Khawaja, to grant the freedom of movement to Maryam Al-Khawaja so that she can go back to Bahrain to see her father without banning her from leaving the country later on. We call on the Bahraini government to immediately and unconditionally release Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja and all other prisoners of conscience. We call on the Bahraini Government to end the harassment and intimidation against women human rights defenders and their families in Bahrain that come in the form of arbitrary detention and interrogation among other forms of violations against them.
For more information on Human Rights violations in Bahrain and how to take action, please see: http://www.bahrainrights.org/en
44 شارع طلعت حرب، وسط القاهرة ،القاهرة، جمهورية مصر العربية، الدور السادس. تليفون/فاكس: 20225772491+
Address: 44 Talaat Harb St, Downtown, Cairo, Egypt, 6th Floor. Tele-Fax: +20225772491
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