1. Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja is a Bahraini political activist.
26 Facts About Abdulhadi al-Khawaja
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is former president and co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, a nonprofit non-governmental organization which works to promote human rights in Bahrain.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has held a number of positions and played various roles in regional and international human rights organizations.
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On 9 April 2011, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was arrested and tried as part of a campaign of repression by the Bahraini authorities following pro-democracy protests in the Bahraini uprising.
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The strike lasted for 110 days, and resulted in Abdulhadi al-Khawaja being force-fed by authorities.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is a member of the International Advisory Network in the Business and Human Rights Resource Center chaired by Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Many students abroad, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, were denied renewal of their passports and asked to return home.
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On 25 September 2004, the BCHR was closed down, and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was arrested, a day after publicly criticizing the prime minister and the Bahraini regime for corruption and human rights abuses, using language which "the authorities easily construed as incitement of hatred".
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On 2 February 2007, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was arrested again by the Bahraini authorities along with the Secretary General of the Bahraini Haq Movement pro-democracy organization Hassan Mushaima and a third activist, Shaker Abdul-Hussein.
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Mushaima and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja said that they believed that their release on bail was a result of the protests and of the strong reaction from opposition groups including the Al-Wefaq society, the country's largest Shia opposition group.
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On 6 January 2009, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was invited to make a speech during Ashura day, which coincides with the annual gathering commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the third historic Imam of Shia.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja called for peaceful resistance to abuses by the ruling regime and civil disobedience.
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On 19 September 2007, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was the principal target of a defamation campaign by the Bahraini authorities aimed at discrediting the BCHR.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was accused of being connected with acts of violence in Bahrain during the 1980s and 1990s, of sympathizing with Iran, and of coordinating with neo-conservatives in the United States.
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On 9 February 2010, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was removed from a Turkish Airlines flight at Bahrain International Airport, as he was about to leave for Istanbul to attend a human rights conference.
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Front Line believes that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has been targeted solely as a result of his legitimate work in defending human rights.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja's daughter reported how up to 20 armed and masked policemen broke into their apartment in the middle of the night and attacked her father.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja required a four-hour operation in a military hospital following injuries to his head.
19.
Nabeel Rajab, current president of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights reported that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja's jawbones had been smashed, and he had four fractures in his face; he was due to undergo a mandibular bone graft.
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On 20 April 2011, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was allowed to make a one-minute phone call to his wife.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was taken to hospital several times where doctors failed to administer him an IV line due to his veins' weak conditions, his family said.
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The government refused access to independent activists to examine him, stating that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja's condition was stable and medical care was being provided.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja asked to see his lawyer to write a will, but was denied access for the fourth week.
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On 1 May 2012, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja told BBC correspondent Frank Gardner that he would continue the hunger strike.
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Abdulhadi al-Khawaja said that the medical treatment which he was undergoing was good except the Bahraini officials were trying to force-feed him, an accusation the government instantly denied.
26.
The European Parliament passed a resolution on the case of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and urged the authorities of Bahrain to ensure that the rights of detainees are upheld at all times.