Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, expressed in a Tweet her concern after the recent reports on Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja's health, as he spends his 12th year in prison for his peaceful defence of human rights.

"Adbulhadi should not be in prison. He should be released," Lawlor stressed.

His daughter, Maryam Al-Khawaja, said in an emailed statement to the AFP that she is "worried" for her father's life. "I don't want my father to be released in a coffin," she added.

She said in an audio recording through the "X" platform that her father told her in a phone call on Friday (August 11, 2023) that he suffered rapid heart palpitation, noting that that he was taken to the prison clinic, where doctors told him that his heart condition was abnormal, and then was transferred by an ambulance to the emergency department at the "Military Hospital" where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.

She pointed out that a doctor at the hospital stressed the need to regulate the heartbeat of her father, who told her that he was on hunger strike, and the doctor told him: "Your life is in danger." Al-Khawaja indicated that her father's heartbeat improved after receiving treatment and then he was returned to prison, stressing that her father is still on hunger strike. 

She recalled that her father had been severely tortured and ill-treated during the 12 years of his arbitrary imprisonment and he demands receiving medical treatment.

Prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja announced on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, launching a hunger strike in solidarity with the political detainees who are on hunger strike in Jaw Central Prison. 

Hundreds of political detainees in Jaw Central Prison began an open hunger strike on Monday, August 7, 2023, to demand their rights after the authorities ignored their demands and continued to violate their rights with unfair decisions such as isolation, denying them of the right to education and neglecting their health care, as well as the system of visits and congregational prayer.

Arabic Version