MANAMA, 21 November 2004 — Bahrain’s court will today issue its verdict in the case of Bahraini activist, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, charged with inciting hatred against the regime. Sources have also confirmed to Arab News that Al-Khawaja will not attend the hearing out of protest.
He has been on a hunger strike since Nov. 14 and was taken to hospital late Thursday night after he collapsed. “His blood pressure went down and he fainted in prison,” said his wife Khadija Al-Musawi.
“I got a call from the prison that he was being transferred to the hospital after his health deteriorated,” she said.
His brother Salah however said that “if his brother is forced to appear in court today, as was the case earlier this month during his last trial, he will have to be brought in on a wheelchair.”
Al-Khawaja’s lawyers will also boycott the sentencing session at the defendant’s request, confirmed Salah.
“We (the family) are prepared for the worst. If convicted, he could face a maximum of three years in prison. We are not optimistic and are not putting our hopes up on the sentence,” he said.
Al-Khawaja, vice president of the disbanded Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was arrested in September and the center closed on the grounds that its activities violated the society’s law.
Before his arrest, Al-Khawaja addressed a poverty seminar at Al Oruba Club which he made remarks critical of the government.
