Prominent Bahraini activist faces new charges for 'insulting' Israel

Bahrain’s political activist and human rights advocate Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is already serving a life sentence, has reportedly been targeted with a series of fresh charges over his protests from prison, including insulting the Israeli occupation regime.

The family of the prominent activist s and international rights groups said that 61-year-old Khawaja, who was imprisoned in 2011 after leading pro-democracy protests in the tiny Persian Gulf island state, will be tried next week for at least three new charges.

The fresh charges were said to be linked to Khawaja’s protests over conditions in Bahrain’s notorious Jau Prison where he has been held for nearly 12 years, in addition to incitement to overthrow the kingdom and insulting Israel following Manama’s normalization deal with the illegal entity.

“My father is yet again facing multiple charges for the exact same reasons - that he insists on speaking up in the face of injustice,” said Khawaja’s daughter, Maryam al-Khawaja.

The new legal cases come, Maryam said, at a time when there have been fresh calls internationally for the immediate release of her father, including as a result of health issues he has after he was tortured by security forces in 2011.

 "The Bahrain regime responds by doubling down on and worsening their reprisals rather than heeding the calls for his release," she underlined.

Khawaja also faces another charge over allegedly breaking a plastic chair a year ago when he was denied the right to call his daughters from prison.  

The prominent activist was cited by his family as saying that he anticipates a fourth charge to be leveled against him related to his protest over the assault against Sheikh Abduljalil al-Miqdad, a leading religious scholar who is also imprisoned, in September.

Moreover, international rights groups described the new charges as an attempt to intimidate Khawaja and other prisoners who speak up from jail.

SS