Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja (; born 5 April 1961) is a Bahraini political activist. On 22 June 2011, al-Khawaja and eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment following the suppression of pro-democracy protests against the Bahraini government. Al-Khawaja has previously gone on a series of hunger strikes while serving his life sentence, in protest of the political conditions in Bahrain.
He is a former president and co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), a nonprofit non-governmental organization which works to promote human rights in Bahrain.Bahrain Center for Human Rights website . Retrieved 17 May 2011 He has held a number of positions and played various roles in regional and international human rights organizations.
On 9 April 2011, al-Khawaja was arrested and tried as part of a campaign of repression by the Bahraini authorities following pro-democracy protests in the Bahraini uprising. Front Line Defenders expressed fear for his life following allegations of torture and sexual assault in detention. Al-Khawaja was sentenced on 22 June 2011, along with eight other activists, to life imprisonment. On 8 February 2012, he started an open-ended hunger strike until "freedom or death", protesting continuing detentions in Bahrain. The strike lasted for 110 days, and resulted in al-Khawaja being force-fed by the authorities.
Until February 2011, al-Khawaja was the Middle East and North Africa Protection Coordinator with Front Line Defendersthe International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders."Bahrain: International trial observer refused entry – serious concern for the health and safety of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja", Front Line, 13 May 2011 . Retrieved 11 July 2011. He is also a member of the International Advisory Network in the Business and Human Rights Resource Center chaired by Mary Robinson,[ "About us", International Advisory Network]. Retrieved 11 July 2011. a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Al-Khawaja is a member of the advisory board of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies"About us", Damascus Center for Human Rights studies . Retrieved 11 July 2011. and also an expert adviser for and member of the coordinating committee of the Arab Group for Monitoring Media Performance monitoring the media in Bahrain and six other Arab countries."The Arab Working Group for Media Monitoring (AWG-MM) condemns the aggressions on journalists in SYRIA, YEMEN, BAHRAIN and LIBYA", The Arab Working Group for Media Monitoring . Retrieved 11 July 2011. Al-Khawaja was part of an Amnesty International fact-finding mission in Iraq, and has been a researcher and project consultant for Amnesty and other international organizations. His human rights campaigning activities have been acknowledged by the International Conference of Human Rights Defenders in Dublin, and the Arab Program for Human Rights Defenders named him as its Regional Activist of 2005.
Early life After finishing high school in Bahrain in 1977, al-Khawaja traveled to the UK to continue his further education. In 1979, he took part in student activities in London in reaction to demonstrations and arrests in Bahrain. Many students abroad, including al-Khawaja, were denied renewal of their passports and asked to return home. In the summer of 1980, after fellow students had been detained and interrogated under torture for their activities in London and his family's house had been ransacked and searched, al-Khawaja, fearing detention if he went back to Bahrain, decided to remain abroad.
Civil and human rights activism in exile
In 1981, the Bahraini government staged a crackdown on opponents, claiming to have uncovered a coup attempt by the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain. Hundreds of civilians, mostly students, including minors, were detained and tortured. Seventy-three detainees were tried by the State Security Court (now abolished) on charges of membership of an illegal organization and attempting to use violence and given sentences of 7–25 years imprisonment.
In 1991, al-Khawaja was granted political asylum in Denmark. Following his resignation from the CDPPB in 1992, he and other Bahrainis living in exile in the Scandinavian countries and the UK founded the Bahrain Human Rights Organization (BHRO), based in Denmark.
During the period 1992–2001 BHRO gained respect for persistent, professional, and non-partisan activities at international level which contributed to the political changes that took place in Bahrain when the new ruler came to power in 1999. Al-Khawaja became head of the BHRO, prior to returning to Bahrain in 2001 following a general amnesty.
Civil and human rights activism in Bahrain Return to Bahrain
After 12 years in exile, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja returned to Bahrain in 1999 following wide-ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government that allowed independent human rights groups to operate in Bahrain. Al-Khawaja became one of the main founders and director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), which was officially registered in June 2002.
Al-Khawaja was also one of the founders of the Bahrain Unemployment Committee, described as sharing a "similar confrontational strategy" with the center. Many of the committee's members are involved in the centre or the Haq Movement, including Abdulwahab Hussain.
Since his return, al-Khawaja has been subjected to detention, unfair trial, and physical assaults as a result of his human rights activities. Well-documented physical assaults against him in March 2002 and June/July/September 2005 were not investigated despite pledges by UN bodies and international NGOs.
First arrest
On 25 September 2004, the BCHR was closed down, and al-Khawaja was arrested, a day after publicly criticizing the prime minister and the Bahraini regime for corruption and human rights abuses,"Bahrain: Activist Jailed After Criticizing Prime Minister", Human Rights Watch, 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011."Bahrain: Rights Center Closed as Crackdown Expands", Human rights watch, 29 September 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2011. using language which "the authorities easily construed as incitement of hatred". Throughout the two months that he spent in prison while on trial, his supporters held widespread protests, both inside Bahrain and abroad. On the morning of 21 November, the court sentenced al-Khawaja to one year in prison, but later in the day it was announced that he had been given a Royal Pardon by the King and was released. The BCHR is still banned by the government, but has remained very active."Sentencing and release of Mr. al-Khawaja, persisting ban of BCHR", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 26 November 2011 . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
Unemployment protest crackdown
On 15 July 2005, police sought to prevent a peaceful demonstration by the Committee for the Unemployed against the government's management of the unemployment situation and the state budget for 2005–2006. The authorities had reportedly been informed about the demonstration a week earlier. While protesters were still assembling, the security forces charged and violently dispersed the demonstration. A total of 32 people said to have required hospital treatment, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Nabeel Rajab and labor rights activist Abbas al-'Umran."Human Rights Watch: Bahrain: Investigate Police Beatings- Attack Follows Decrees Closing Political Society, Independent Rights Center", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 22 July 2005 . Retrieved 12 July 2011."Amnesty: Use of force against demonstrators", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights . Retrieved 12 July 2011."Front Line Human Rights Defenders beaten in Bahrain", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 16 July 2005 . Retrieved 12 July 2011.
Second arrest
On 2 February 2007, al-Khawaja was arrested again by the Bahraini authorities along with the Secretary General of the Bahraini Haq Movement pro-democracy organization Hassan Mushaima and a third activist, Shaker Abdul-Hussein."In letter to the King: Bahrain Must End Repression of Human Rights Organization", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 22 February 2007 . Retrieved 12 July 2011. Al-Khawaja was charged with offences including "promoting change to the political system through illegitimate means" and "an intention to change the governing system of the country, circulating false information, insulting the king and inciting hatred against the regime". The arrests were followed by public disturbances. Several hundred supporters who tried to hold a march in Jidhafs, on the outskirts of Manama, to demand the activists' release clashed with authorities. The Haq Movement spokesman Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace reported that Special Forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators, who originated from several villages west of the capital. The demonstrators dispersed but later regrouped.
Police blocked roads around the area. Black smoke could be seen rising from the area. Witnesses said the demonstrators set tires and garbage containers on fire.
The Al-Wefaq Society, the largest grouping in the Bahraini Parliament with 17 out of 40 seats, called for an immediate session of the National Assembly, claiming that the arrests threatened the credibility of the reform process. Al-Wefaq chief Sheikh Ali Salman criticized the arrests in his Friday sermon and attacked the authorities for their use of indiscriminate force. After being held and interrogated for seven hours, al-Khawaja, Hassan Mushaima and Shaker Abdul-Hussein were released on bail. Mushaima and al-Khawaja said that they believed that their release on bail was a result of the protests and of the strong reaction from opposition groups including the Al-Wefaq society, the country's largest Shia opposition group. During a joint press conference with al-Khawaja, Mushaima said that Al-Wefaq's response had surprised the authorities and affirmed opposition solidarity.
Ashura speech
On 6 January 2009, al-Khawaja was invited to make a speech during Ashura day, which coincides with the annual gathering commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the third historic Imam of Shia. During his speech, al-Khawaja referred openly to grave human rights violations in Bahrain including sectarian discrimination, corruption, plunder of public funds and land, arbitrary arrests, regular use of torture, unjust trials, denial of the rights of assembly and expression, and the prosecution of human rights defenders. He also called for peaceful resistance to abuses by the ruling regime and civil disobedience."Egypt: 11 human rights organisations declare their support for human rights defenders in Bahrain", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 12 March 2009 . Retrieved 13 July 2011.
On 21 January, the office of the Attorney General ordered al-Khawaja's prosecution under articles 29(2), 160, 165, and 168(1) of the Penal Code. He was charged with "propaganda to overthrow or change the political system by force," "publicly instigating hatred and disrespect against the ruling regime," and "willfully broadcasting false and malicious news, statements or rumors and spreading provocative propaganda related to the internal affairs of the country that could disturb public security and cause damage to the public interest." On 9 February, he was not allowed to leave Bahrain for a visit to Iraq on behalf of Front Line."Bahrain: Travel Ban on Prominent Human Rights Activist, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja faces 10 years imprisonment for delivering a speech", Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, 9 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
Threats and harassment
Al-Khawaja has been the subject of ongoing harassment including physical attacks and smear campaigns in the media.