UPDATE: On 11 September 2023, over 800 prisoners suspended their hunger strike until 30 September 2023 to allow the authorities to implement promised improvements such as increased duration of calls with family members, access to sunlight and better access to health care. On 13 September, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja told his family he was not taken to see an eye doctor for glaucoma, so he resumed his hunger strike. Bahrain postponed the visit of the OHCHR that same week, but Maryam Al-Khawaja attempted to travel to Bahrain to seek her father’s freedom. Please click here to see a joint statement by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights call on the authorities in Bahrain to guarantee her safety and integrity during her visit, and to immediately and unconditionally release Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. Unfortunately, she and her team were denied boarding in London and could not travel to Bahrain on 15 September 2023. As of 19 September 2023, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is on hunger strike to protest denial of treatment for his heart condition.

Please join the family, friends and colleagues of Bahraini-Danish human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja to help save his life and support him and his fellow imprisoned activists on hunger strike in Bahrain. His daughter Maryam Al-Khawaja will be travelling to Bahrain next week to help secure his release, despite the risks to her own freedom. Your support is needed!

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is among the more than 800 political prisoners currently on hunger strike in Bahrain’s notorious Jau Prison demanding better prison conditions. The protest, which began on 07 August 2023, is one of the country’s largest political crises since mass pro-democracy protests were repressed in 2011 and has led to street protests.

On 07 September 2023, Maryam Al-Khawaja announced her plan to return from exile along with a high-level delegation to visit Bahrain in a bid to secure her father’s release. This comes despite a serious risk that she will be arrested upon her return. She was sentenced to one year in absentia after trumped up cases were brought against her in 2014. She has four pending cases against her which can lead to sentences of life imprisonment. Maryam Al-Khawaja’s video announcement is published on her X account (Twitter)  and is followed by an interview with AP News. Please like, share and comment.

She says, “There are serious concerns about Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s deteriorating health as a result of torture, inadequate medical treatment, and the ongoing strike. Furthermore, the Danish authorities (and its allies) have failed to achieve minimal progress. I have come to the conclusion that traveling to Bahrain is a last resort to a) visit my father before it is too late and b) put a final pressure on the Danish/US and Bahraini authorities to resolve the unjust imprisonment of my father and all other political prisoners in Bahrain.”

Click here for a Factsheet prepared by the #FreeAlKhawaja Campaign.

On 16 August 2023, 13 human rights groups including the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) wrote to the Biden Administration to help save the life of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. The US State Department reported that the Bahraini Crown Prince will visit the White House next week. This is a crucial timing to put pressure on the US government to call for the release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and other unjustly imprisoned human rights defenders and activists in Jau Prison.

In another joint appeal, a dozen NGOs appealed to the United Kingdom to call on Bahrain to respond to the demands of the hunger strikers in Jaw Prison, noting with concern Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace. On 24 August 2023, 16 NGOs wrote to the EU with the same request, as the hunger strike continued and gained more strength. The letter was sent just after the EU’s Special Representative to the Gulf Luigi Di Maio visited Bahrain and met with the Foreign Minister on 21 August 2023.

On 06 September 2023, two dozen NGOs sent a joint letter calling on United Nations Member States to Address the Situation of Prisoners in Bahrain at the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced that they will be conducting a country visit to Bahrain from 15-20 September 2023.

Call for action: 

1. Like, share, comment and amplify Maryam Al-Khawaja’s video on X (formerly Twitter);
2. Publicly call on Denmark, the US, the EU, the OHCHR, and Bahrain to unconditionally release Al-Khawaja and all other political prisoners, as well as ensuring seriously improved prison conditions;
3. Call on the OHCHR to visit Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and other unjustly imprisoned human rights defenders and activists in Jau Prison;
4. Please contact your personal and professional network of contacts (government/media/stakeholders) to push for the release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and all other unjustly imprisoned human rights defenders and activists in Bahrain before Maryam Al-Khawaja’s trip. 

Contacts information:

Denmark: @larsloekke (Danish FM); @DanishMFA (Danish MFA); @Statsmin (Danish PM); #DKpol; #DKmedier

US:  @SecBlinken (US FM); @StateDept (US State Dept); @StateDeptSpox (Spokesperson US State Dept); 

EU: @JosepBorrellF (EU HR/VP); @EUSR_Gulf (EUSR Gulf region); @EamonGilmore (EUSR for Human Rights);
OHCHR: @UNHumanRights (OHCHR); @volker_turk (HC for Human Rights)

Always use #FreeAlKhawaja