Democracy Now 2013 Interview with Maryam Alkhawaja, Now a Prisoner in Bharain [View all]

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Last edited Mon Sep 1, 2014, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Prominent human rights defender Maryam Alkhawaja was arrested on August 30, 2014 after returning to Bahrain to visit her ailing father who is serving a life sentence in prison. She was seized on arrival at Bahrain's international airport on Saturday, August 30 2014 and charged with insulting the king on social media. (For updates to the story visit http://www.bahrainrights.org .)

Maryam's arrest shines a spotlight on the continued unrest in Bahrain including the government's actions against those campaigning for respect of basic freedoms.


Democracy Now Interview
Amy Goodman interviews Maryam Al Khawaja
May 10, 2013

With Father and Sister Imprisoned, Exiled Bahraini Activist Maryam Alkhawaja Condemns Ongoing Abuses

The Bahraini government continues its crackdown on opposition protesters, with demonstrations repressed and scores of dissidents held behind bars. We're joined by Maryam Alkhawaja, a leading Bahraini human rights activist. Her family has been highly critical of the U.S.-backed monarchy and they have paid a heavy price. Maryam's father, human rights attorney Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, is serving a life sentence in prison. He has already spent two years in jail. Her sister, Zainab Alkhawaja, is also imprisoned. A close friend of the family, Nabeel Rajab, is also in jail. Rajab had been the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. "There has hardly been any real accountability of the Bahraini government of the human rights violations that have been going on in Bahrain for more than two years now," says Alkhawaja, who is now the acting president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.