NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with Mariam Al Khawaja, a Bahraini human rights activist like her father. He was jailed 12 years ago for his role in the pro-democracy movement. Where is the situation?
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Leila Fadel, host:
Like her, Maryam Al Khawaja’s father is a human rights activist in Bahraini. Then, 12 years ago, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was imprisoned for his role in the pro-democracy movement. These protests come amid uprisings across the Middle East calling for reform and an end to authoritarian rule. But the demonstrations have been suppressed in Bahrain, and al-Khawaja is one of Saudi Arabia’s highest-profile political prisoners. He, along with hundreds of other political prisoners, ended a week-long hunger strike after government authorities agreed to improve their treatment. And yesterday, Bahrain signed a security and economic agreement with the United States, and that’s when I caught up with Maryam Al Khawaja.
Maryam Al Khawaja: The charges against him were brought under the Terrorism Act. Bahrain’s terrorism laws are so vaguely defined that even the activities of human rights defenders can be considered terrorist activities. And he was charged with attempting to violently overthrow the Bahraini government. However, if you look at the actual breakdown of the charges, they are all based on issues related to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
FADEL: Do you know more about his current situation in prison?
Al Khawaja: Actually, I spoke to my father this morning…
FADEL: Yeah.
Al Khawaja: …when he called me from prison to let me know that he was back on hunger strike. A massive hunger strike was held. In fact, it is the largest mass hunger strike in Bahrain’s history, which began on August 7th. And one of the most important demands made by political prisoners was related to access to adequate medical care. My father has been suffering from heart disease since the beginning of this year. Since then, my father has consistently refused to see a cardiologist, even though he has visited the emergency room three times with cardiac arrhythmias, two of which have been since the hunger strike began. He was refused and doctors told him he had a heart arrhythmia. Any time you are in prison, you are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke. So I’m worried for his life at this point. Political prisoners on hunger strike (804 people to be exact) decided yesterday to call off their mass hunger strike.
FADEL: Yes. I was going to ask about that. They decided to stop because the government promised to improve some conditions, right?
Al Khawaja: That’s right. Unfortunately, it only took one day for them to renege on that promise. This morning his father had an eye doctor’s appointment. My father has a disease called glaucoma and he is at risk of going blind if not treated. So this morning he was supposed to be seen by an eye doctor but he was not taken, even though he has been denied seeing an eye doctor since earlier this year. So he only needed one day to show that the Bahraini government was not actually serious about these promises. So his father informed us that he is now back on hunger strike.
FADEL: How relevant do you think the promises made by the Bahraini government to the prisoners to end the hunger strike were for this week’s visit?
Al Khawaja: I think it has everything to do with this visit. I think the Crown Prince is trying to avoid any negative backlash or negative media attention during his trip. So what will be very important in the coming days is that the US government will put pressure on the Bahraini government to do the right thing by releasing all political prisoners and releasing people like my father to Denmark. It’s up to you whether or not to spend it. To provide the people with access to necessary medical care. The question is, what good is a volatile ally for the United States, even if we’re not talking in terms of human rights, even if we’re basically just talking about American interests? And that is the current situation in Bahrain.
FADEL: I’d like to ask you about that. Along with the massive hunger strike, there was a very rare kind of protest that you don’t see in countries that have virtually no recognition of dissent. . Why is it called unstable? I mean, I think a lot of people look at this kingdom and say, oh, this is a stable Gulf state.
Al Khawaja: Well, I think anyone who follows anything other than government statements knows that Bahrain is unstable. If you look at the economy of Bahrain, the economy of Bahrain has not been doing well for some time now. Economic support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE has ended in recent years. As a result, Bahrainis are currently struggling. And I think this is part of the reason why the Crown Prince presented himself as very progressive and did a huge PR campaign to get this kind of deal done with the U.S. government. But I think all of this shows that Bahrain is currently in a very unstable situation. It’s a pressure cooker.
FADEL: Has the United States given you any indication that it will use any pressure during the negotiations to try to get a different outcome for these political prisoners, including your father?
Al Khawaja: Well, I think the message that we generally receive is that human rights are important to the U.S. government and that we will do everything we can to ensure human rights as part of the dialogue. I therefore hope that it goes beyond mere lip service about the importance of human rights, to real action and practice of change, and puts pressure on the Bahrain government to do better on human rights. Masu.
Fadel: By going to Bahrain, you are putting your own freedom at risk.
Al Khawaja: Yes.
FADEL: In 2014, you went and got arrested. It took international pressure to release you. Why take this risk?
Al Khawaja: It’s not that it’s not scary. I’m scared of going back to prison. In 2014, I was not only imprisoned, but also assaulted by the police. I was put in something called a freezer. They tore a muscle in my shoulder. The scars from that assault are still with me to this day. But I think saving my father’s life is more important than my fear at this point. So I’m willing to take that risk. Now that I have already been sentenced to a year in prison and have four pending cases, I will be returning to Bahrain. And I know I could end up spending the rest of my life in prison. But if my return could potentially save my father’s life, I think it would be worth it.
Fadell: Wow. What if, in other words, what are you doing to protect yourself? Are you taking any measures, including what you’re saying now, to prevent this from happening when you go there?
Al Khawaja: I have taken every possible step to protect myself. So I’m trying to do everything I can to protect myself in every possible way. So I have been speaking out in the media and drawing as much attention as possible to this incident and my trip. I have been in touch with governments, particularly the American government and the Danish government, to try to step up efforts. Because if I saw that the Danish government or the American government was really pushing for my father’s release. If there is movement in that regard, there is no need to return to Bahrain and put yourself at risk. And the other thing that I’m doing is I’ve got a group of people that are coming with me. I will also be accompanied on my trip by the Executive Director of Amnesty International. And hopefully it will somehow protect me, if not from arrest, then at least from assault.
Fadel: Mariam Al-Khawaja, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
Al Khawaja: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF GIA MARGARET’S “APATHY”)
FADEL: In response to our questions, the Bahrain government said that recent reforms implemented at the prison where Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and others are being held “far exceed international standards.” They deny that Mr Al Khawaja has been denied medical care and say he has repeatedly refused to attend medical appointments.
(SOUNDBITE OF GIA MARGARET’S “APATHY”)
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