Skip to main content

Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja released

Zainab al-Khawaja was reunited with friends and supporters at a Manama shopping centre
Bahraini pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja has been released from jail.

 Ms Khawaja had spent nearly a year in prison after being convicted on several charges, including participation in an illegal gathering and insulting police.

 "One year of prison is nothing," she told journalists on Sunday. "We have a cause... This will not stop us."

 Ms Khawaja faces two further trials on charges that include damaging police property, defacing a picture of the king and insulting a police officer.

 Concurrent sentences
The dual Bahraini and Danish national has been detained several times since pro-democracy protests erupted in the Gulf island nation three years ago.

 Since February 2013, she has been serving concurrently several short prison sentences handed down by lower criminal courts that related to five separate cases.

 She reportedly refused to appeal before higher courts because she believed that Bahrain's judiciary was controlled by the government. She also refused to pay bail.

 On 27 January, Ms Khawaja was sentenced to a further four months' imprisonment on a charge of "destroying government property", according to Amnesty International.

 She was accused of tearing pictures of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa belonging to the interior ministry in May 2012.

 Neither Ms Khawaja nor her lawyer was present at the trial. She was informed of the court session half an hour before it was due to take place and she told her lawyer shortly afterwards but he was unable to attend, activists said.

 Her sister, Maryam, said she might be arrested at her next court hearing on Wednesday.

 One of Zainab's two upcoming trials is for "insulting a police officer". Amnesty said she had verbally defended a fellow prisoner who was "insulted and humiliated" by a prison guard at the Isa Town detention centre, south of Manama, in June 2013.

 After her release, she said international attention should focus on the 3,000 people she believed were being detained in Bahrain on politically-related charges.

 Her father, Abdulhadi, is among eight activists and opposition figures sentenced to life in prison for allegedly plotting to overthrow the state.
Labels:
Location: Asia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mario Balotelli: AC Milan reject claims the striker is about to leave

AC Milan have released a statement to deny speculation that Italy striker Mario Balotelli could leave in January. They were responding to reports in Italy that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi had decided to sell him. "AC Milan firmly and absolutely deny statements that have been attributed to the chairman about Mario Balotelli being put on the transfer list," the Serie A club's statement  said . The ex-Man City striker has scored six goals in 12 league games this season. He moved to the San Siro in January for an initial fee of 22m euros (£19m). Last season he racked up 12 goals for the seven-time European champions in only 13 Serie A appearances.
Post a Comment
Read more

Al-Jazeera demands Egypt release four journalists

  Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has demanded the release of four of its journalists seized by Egyptian police in Cairo at the weekend. They include its Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and former BBC correspondent Peter Greste. The journalists had held illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood, the interior ministry said. Al-Jazeera said it had been "subject to harassment" although not officially banned from working in Egypt. There has been a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July. Last week it was declared a terrorist group. In the past six months, more than 1,000 pro-Morsi protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces, and thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested, including the majority of its leadership. A court will hear a case to disband the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 15 February. 'Arbitrary' The four journ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Justin Bieber all over Selena Gomez at party

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were all over each other at a friend's birthday party. The 'Baby' hitmaker rented out the Lucky Strike bowling alley in Los Angeles on Sunday night for their pal Ryan Butler's intimate celebration, and couldn't keep his hands off the 'Come & Get It' singer at the party. A source told E! News: ''Justin rented out Lucky Strike's Luxe room for the celebration. Additionally, he was seen kissing and flirting with his on-and-off again girlfriend, Selena Gomez.'' The insider added: ''The group, of about 12 people in all, enjoyed some of Lucky Strike's Esteban's Nacho's Grande, Cheeseburgers and wings. Specifically, Justin was seen eating the Mac & Cheese bites.'' Ryan's girlfriend posted a photograph of Selena, 22, gazing at Justin, 20, on Instagram from the party. The Canadian star confirmed during a deposition last week that he has reunited with his on-again, off...
Post a Comment
Read more