Fw: Front Line Defenders Electronic Press Release on Abdulhadi Al Khawaja

-


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Appeal to Court of Cassation Filed in Abdulhadi Al Khawaja's Case in Bahrain
Front Line Defenders Demands Immediate Release of Abdulhadi Al Khawaja From Detention

Dublin, Ireland, October 27, 2011 – As lethal force and suppression by security forces continue to be used against civilian protesters in Bahrain, the legal proceedings involving human rights defender Abdulhadi Al Khawaja move to the Court of Cassation. Today, Abdulhadi's lawyers filed an appeal to the Court to apply for a legal review of the proceedings of the National Safety Court, which sentenced Abdulhadi to life in prison, despite a patently unfair trial and without minimum provisions for his lawyer to defend him.

Front Line Defenders renews its call to the Bahraini authorities to release Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and other human rights defenders from detention pending the legal review and to drop the charges against Abdulhadi Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was one of 21 human rights defenders and political activists arrested in April 2010 during the violent clampdown on political protests.

Andrew Anderson, Deputy Director of Front Line Defenders, said "Abdulhadi has been tortured, held incommunicado for periods of time during his detention, and put in a show trial, all because he took peaceful, nonviolent action for human rights and political reform. The Public Prosecutor in Bahrain has already acknowledged that torture was used against the medics, and he should also acknowledge and investigate the use of torture in this case as well. But most importantly, for Bahrain to emerge from this period of repression, the authorities must immediately release Abdulhadi and drop the politically-motivated charges against him."

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja is an internationally respected human rights defender who worked for three years with Front Line Defenders supporting the security and protection of human rights defenders across the Middle East and North Africa Region. Front Line Defenders remains concerned about the conditions of imprisonment of Bahraini human rights defenders and is also calling for the sentence against the renowned blogger and human rights defender Ali Abdulemam, who was tried in absentia, to be dismissed.

It is now 8 months since the first protests calling for change started in Bahrain. It is six months since Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was detained in the middle of the night and four months since he was sentenced to life in prison. Every day Abdulhadi spends in prison is another dark day for human rights defenders around the world.

Click here for video statement.

Contact: Andrew Anderson
Deputy Director
Front Line Defenders
Phone: +353-1-212-3750
andrew@frontlinedefenders.org


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Presbyterian Church U.S.A. to allow gay and lesbian clergy

-
Image
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. to allow gay and lesbian clergy The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Tuesday voted to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian ministers. The church put the vote to its 173 presbyteries, or governing bodies, nationwide. On Tuesday, the Twin Citites Area presbytery, which covers Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, became the 87th presbytery — and the deciding vote — to approve an amendment that will remove the constitutional requirement that all ministers, elders and deacons live in “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” The change, which opens up the possibility that people in same-sex relationships can be considered for ordination, is expected to take effect starting on July 10. It is the latest move by a Protestant denomination toward the inclusion of gay and lesbian clergy. “I see this as an opportunity to build a stronger church. Faithful and qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pr...
Read more

The Famous Christian Village in Accra

-
The Famous Christian Village in Accra Written by: Prince Kweku This famous ‘village’ with a population of almost two thousand is sandwiched between the University of Ghana, Legon and the Achimota Secondary School. Its location is four minutes’ drive from the Legon campus. The inhabitants are predominantly Ewes. The young men are mainly golf caddies while the women are engaged in a variety of activities to support their husbands and family. Interestingly, most of the inhabitants come from Adangbe in Togo which is two hours’ drive from the Aflao border. Recently, there have been huge migrations of Nigerians who are there for several reasons. The ‘illage’ is between Kisseiman and Dome, all suburbs of Accra. Although the village is associated with Christians, the behavior and attitude of the people do not conform to Christian standards. This famous village is known as the “Christian Village.” Let me proceed to justify the position I take that the village does not befit its ...
Read more

PROFILE OF THE NEWLY SWORN IN NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR THE NATIONAL YOUTH AUTHORITY

-
Image
by National Youth Authority on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 9:07pm Mrs Sedina Tamakloe Attionu holds a Masters Degree in International Retail Marketing from the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. A pharmacist by profession, Mrs Attionu has over 15 years proven experience in varying roles throughout her career particularly in general management, project planning and management, and in executing marketing activity against financial and marketing return on investment objectives. advocacy with governments and has managed diverse and multi-functional teams with varying skills set. She hopes that this will enable her co-ordinate and network with the large number of youth groups within the country and harness their energies for accelerated national development. She also set up and positioned The Pillbox as the first retail pharmacy chain in Ghana. As an entrepreneur, she recognises that entrepreneurship is the heart of any economy and a career with endless possibilities; that an indivi...
Read more