MANAMA (Dispatches) – A
Bahraini opposition leader and Secretary-General of the Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy, Hassan Mushaima, has rejected a conditional royal pardon to release him from prison, describing it as “humiliating” and reiterating his right to freedom without restriction.
In a letter circulated on social media, Mushaima stressed his refusal to waive any of his basic rights or accept preconditions in return for his release.
The prominent human rights activist and opposition figure, who has been detained for a decade, explained that he “is facing a great ordeal” inside prison, however he prefers prison over humiliating and conditional freedom.
The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy accused the Bahraini regime authorities of planning to kill Mushaima in prison.
The movement called on the international community and the UN human rights organizations to put pressure on the Bahraini authorities to save Mushaima’s life as well as the lives of all prisoners of conscience.
Recently, 14 members of the British Parliament, including former opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, signed an urgent letter to their country’s foreign minister demanding the release of opposition leaders in Bahrain, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of their arrest, according to Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.
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.
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.