MANAMA (Dispatches) – A Bahraini court has upheld charges against one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders, after denying him access to an appeal hearing, according to his family and rights campaigners.
Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja, 61, was initially imprisoned in 2011 after leading peaceful protests calling for fundamental freedoms in the kingdom.
Last year, he was handed fresh new charges, including allegations that he broke a plastic chair when denied the right to call his daughters from prison and insulted a prison guard.
He was convicted on 28 November and fined the equivalent of £353 ($418 USD). His family described the charges as “bogus” at the time and said that he was denied legal representation.
On Thursday, the High Criminal Second Court of Appeal upheld the charge of allegedly breaking the chair.
“The court decided to accept the appeal in its general form but rejected its subject matter and upheld the [appeal] ruling,” the Free Al-Khawaja campaign said in a statement.
“My father was both prevented from attending the hearing yesterday and his lawyer was not allowed to visit him prior to the hearing,” his daughter Maryam al-Khawaja told Middle East Eye on Friday.
“I am not shocked by the court’s decision since the court is doing exactly what it is intended to do: violate rights and punish human rights defenders like my father.”
Khawaja is a longstanding human rights defender who co-founded the Persian Gulf Centre for Human Rights and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, for which he also served as president.
In June last year, he was named the winner of the Martin Ennals Award given to human rights defenders who show deep commitment to their cause despite significant personal risk.
Demonstrations have been held in Bahrain on a regular basis since a popular uprising began in the Arab country in mid-February 2011.
People 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 form of dissent.