Zainab al-Khawaja a non-violent activist: Former Bahraini legislator

Press TV has interviewed Jawad Fairooz, a former Bahraini legislator, and Wafik Moustafa, the chairman of the Conservative Arab Network, to discuss the nonstop crackdown on peaceful anti-monarchy protestors, including women activists, in Bahrain.

Fairooz says there are five female activists behind the bars on different accusations. He says the women just expressed their views and called for serious reforms and equality.

Zainab al-Khawaja, a political prisoner, is not only a non-violent person, but also a human rights activist, Fairooz says.

The Al Khalifa regime has targeted not only female activists but also the elite, children and even the clergy, he says, adding that human rights violations in Bahrain are escalating on a daily basis.

He says the Bahraini regime resorts to sectarianism to divide the society and suppress protestors freely. The unrest in Bahrain, however, has nothing to do with sectarian issues and has to do with seeking justice and freedom, according to the former Bahraini legislator.

Moustafa, for his part, believes that human rights abuses are not acceptable against women or men in Bahrain or any other country in the Arab world.

“Bahrain should really re-look at its human rights record,” he says, because “creating harmony in such a small country and area, affected with huge conflicts, is very important.”

“Certainly repression will not help stabilize the situation... The regime or the royal family should take steps to satisfy the needs of their people.”

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