MANAMA, 24 November 2004 — A leading Bahraini human rights activist said yesterday his two-month detention had bolstered his resolve to fight for reforms and social justice in the kingdom.
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was pardoned by King Hamad on Sunday. He had been sentenced to a year in prison for a speech in September in which he blamed the prime minister for the country’s economic woes and past human rights abuses.
His release came after a domestic and international outcry and days before a planned visit by the king to the United States, which had also criticized the arrest. “I feel as strong as before and conditions for my activities have improved after all the publicity. People now believe in me more,” he said.
“Prison has had no major effect on me as a person. The goal remains the same and that is a campaign for justice,” he said.
Khawaja and most of his supporters belong to Bahrain’s Shiite majority but the activist said he spoke for “all the poor and oppressed”.
He said he would continue to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa, whom he blamed for “deep-rooted corruption” and whose criticism landed him in jail.
“The king and the crown prince are both on the side of reforms but the prime minister is a major hurdle,” he said.
The activist, who received a hero’s welcome after his release, has emerged as a prominent opposition leader in Bahrain — a close US ally and headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Khawaja said about half of the 450,000 native Bahrainis live under the poverty line or were struggling to survive.
“We need to end corruption and bridge this wide gap between the rich and the poor. The way to do it is to encourage them to seek a greater say in politics,” said Khawaja, who is often surrounded by crowds of admirers and well-wishers.
Khawaja lived in exile for 12 years in Denmark before he was allowed to return under a general amnesty the king offered to dissidents after he assumed power in 1999.
