Bahrainis rally to voice solidarity with political inmates, demand their freedom

Protesters have taken to the streets in Bahrain to show solidarity with political prisoners and call for their immediate release as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses ahead with its cruel clampdown on human rights advocates and opposition figures in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

On Friday evening, protesters staged rallies in more than 18 regions under the motto “Friday of Prisoners’ Rage” to denounce Bahraini authorities’ mistreatment of jailed activists, and their miserable conditions at detention centers especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The demonstrators carried Bahrain’s national flags and chanted anti-regime slogans in the villages of al-Malkiya, al-Maqsha, Southern Sehla, Diraz, Bu Quwah and al-Dair as they called for the immediate release of the inmates. 

The participants held Bahrain’s monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah fully responsible for the wellbeing of prisoners of conscience being kept behind bars in crowded jails.

The Protesters said the coronavirus outbreak has exacerbated the situation of the prisoners – some of whom have lost their lives to the highly contagious respiratory disease.

Bahrainis also held similar demonstrations in the villages of Abu Saiba, Shakhurah, al-Markh, Nuwaidrat, Shahrakan and Tubli as well as Salmabad and Sanad towns, where they held up the pictures of their imprisoned loved ones as well as those of prominent opposition figures, including Zakia al-Barbouri, who was charged to five years in prison on February 6, 2019, and had her citizenship revoked in a politically-motivated case.

On Thursday, Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim warned that political dissidents in Bahraini prisons are facing deaths and demanded their immediate release.  

Top Bahraini cleric warns of death of political prisoners amid coronavirus pandemic

Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has warned that political dissidents in Bahraini prisons are facing deaths and demanded their immediate release.

In a statement carried by Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website, the senior cleric called on the ruling Al Khalifa regime to choose between the deaths of the dissident inmates and their release.

“One of the worst things that the government of Bahrain does is to keep prisoners as leverage for political bargaining, especially now that the coronavirus [pandemic] is attacking [Bahrain's] prisons with full force,” the senior cleric added.

UN expert calls on Bahrain to release human rights defender

A United Nations expert has called on Bahraini regime to release prominent jailed Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja before his 60th birthday next week.

“He's serving a life sentence in prison for peacefully defending the rights of others,” Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said in a video message posted to Twitter on Friday.

She added, “He's been given an unfair trial and details of his torture have been corroborated by an independent commission of inquiry.”

Denmark urges Bahrain to free political prisoners, including top rights activist Khawaja

Denmark calls on Bahrain to release all political prisoners, including prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Lawlor said she had known Khawaja “for many years” and “witnessed his committed work for human rights in the Middle East.”

The UN expert also noted that Khawaja's case had been taken up by the European Union, the United Nations and other international organisations.

“I urge the Bahraini government to finally release Abdulhadi in time for his 60th birthday on the 5th of April. His family have been fragmented and dislocated and have suffered greatly over the past ten years; it would be an honorable and compassionate act to allow them to reunite,” Lawlor concluded. 

Demonstrations in Bahrain have been held on a regular basis ever since a popular uprising began in mid-February 2011.

The participants demand that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama, however, has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent.

Over dozen British MPs demand govt. to reconsider ties with Bahrain over rights abuses

More than a dozen British lawmakers urge the UK government to reconsider its ties with Bahrain in order to secure the release of political prisoners.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.

King Hamad ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3, 2017.

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