Front Line makes appeal for ex-employee on hunger strike

Bahrain: The Dublin-based human rights organisation Front Line Defenders has appealed on behalf of its former employee Abdulhadi…

Bahrain:The Dublin-based human rights organisation Front Line Defenders has appealed on behalf of its former employee Abdulhadi al-Khawaja (51) who is on the 59th day of a prison hunger strike in Bahrain.

A statement from the organisation said the condition of Mr al-Khawaja, who has dual Bahraini and Danish citizenship, had deteriorated and he had been transferred to hospital.

Executive director Mary Lawlor said yesterday: “We call on the Bahrain government to exercise mercy and immediately allow Abdulhadi al-Khawaja to travel to Denmark for medical treatment as requested by the Danish foreign minister. We further call on the United Nations, the European Union and the US and UK governments to issue public statements to this effect.”

Mr al-Khawaja was arrested in April 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment after a trial before a military court on charges of subversion.

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Ms Lawlor said his daughter Zainab had attempted to see him last Thursday, his 51st birthday, but she had been arrested and detained.

Deaglán  De Bréadún

Deaglán De Bréadún

Deaglán De Bréadún, a former Irish Times journalist, is a contributor to the newspaper