DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The daughter of a long-detained human rights defender in Bahrain was refused boarding a plane in London on Friday as she tried to return to the island kingdom to seek her father’s release. .
Mariam Al-Khawaja She was accompanied by a group of other activists, including Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard, who tried to prevent authorities from immediately detaining her.
But before boarding the British Airways flight, she said she was unable to check in because Bahraini immigration officials had instructed the airline not to allow her on board.
Her travel attempt drew international condemnation after her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, 62, led the 2011 Arab Spring protests in Bahrain. This was carried out as he resumed his hunger strike to protest the conditions in which he was imprisoned for many years on charges.
The attempt also renews pressure on Denmark, where al-Khawaja sects from both countries have citizenship, and the United States, which signed a new defense agreement with Bahrain during the Bahraini crown prince’s visit to Washington this week.
“So we tried to check in at the counter here at BA and were told we were not allowed to board, even though I am a Bahraini national,” she said, holding her red Bahraini passport. Mariam al-Khawaja, who was accompanied by a woman on both sides, said in a video message. Activist.
“I’m very disappointed because this could have been my last chance to see my father,” she added.
Bahrain’s government said in a statement that it “reserves the right to refuse entry if deemed necessary.” “Individuals convicted in a court of law are subject to legal process and due process,” he said when asked earlier about Maryam al-Khawaja’s travel plans, without providing further details.
“All airlines have a legal obligation to comply with immigration laws and customer entry requirements set by each country,” British Airways said in response to questions about the activists’ grounding.
Activists criticized the decision.
“Denying Mariam and us the opportunity to travel to Bahrain will not silence us,” said the human rights group Frontline Defenders, which sent a representative on the plane. “We redouble our efforts to urge and encourage all members of the international community to do the right thing by the Bahraini authorities and release Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and other wrongfully imprisoned activists. ” he said.
Last month, hundreds of prisoners at Bahrain’s Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center, which also houses Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Hunger strike to protest their detention conditions.
It was one of the largest demonstrations against Bahrain’s al-Khalifa royal family since Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, violently suppressed Arab Spring protests. The Sunni al-Khalifa family has ruled the predominantly Shiite island in the Persian Gulf since 1783.
prisoners called off hunger strike During Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s visit to Washington this week, Al-Khawaja was reportedly denied access to medical care but has since resumed recovery. In preparation for my daughter’s trip.
Separately, Mary Lawlor, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said on Friday that she remained concerned about al-Khawaja’s case and the cases of two other detainees. .
“Medical negligence and lack of proper care have left them in a state of anxiety,” Lawler said. “Both their detention and the ill-treatment they suffered in prison violate the rights to freedom of expression, opinion and assembly that must be guaranteed to human rights defenders.”
Bahrain insisted that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and others received adequate medical care while in detention.
It remains unclear what would have happened to Maryam al-Khawaja had she arrived in Bahrain. She still faces a variety of charges on the island, including what she said is an unspecified terrorism charge that could carry a life sentence.
Crown Prince Salman signed new defense and technology agreements with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Washington. He also met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Bahrain is considered a major non-NATO ally by the United States and is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in the Middle East, which patrols the region’s waterways and conducts frequent military operations. Tense encounter with Iran. Bahrain has diplomatically recognized Israel in recent years.
The new agreement between the U.S. and Bahrain, reached without being submitted to Congress and becoming a formal treaty, calls for the two countries to meet and plan a response to “any external invasion or threat of external aggression.” There is. Bahrain has long had tense relations with Iran, which claimed the island even under the regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah.
Eurasia Group’s analysis said: “Increased rhetoric regarding Washington’s response to the Bahrain attack is likely to reassure Manama’s government, particularly regarding Bahrain’s concerns with and intentions towards Iran.” “However, the deal does not appear to offer Bahrain many concrete new security or economic benefits, other than strengthening its security rhetoric.”
Bahrain, meanwhile, called the agreement a sign of “the close and enduring security partnership between Bahrain and the United States.”
However, human rights issues remain below the surface. On Thursday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that Mr. Blinken had raised the al-Khawaja case and other issues in his meeting with Prince Salman.
“He raised human rights concerns and made it clear that human rights are a pillar of our policy across the Middle East and North Africa,” Miller said.
“As is the case with many countries, we have the ability to cooperate where we can advance cooperation, but we still raise where we have concerns,” he added.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Alberto Pezzali in London contributed to this report.