Originally published on the CGS blog on April 12, 2012.
Citizens for Global Solutions sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on her to demand the Bahraini government release human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and 13 other political prisoners.
Al-Khawaja has been on a hunger strike for over two months, protesting his unjust imprisonment. In recent days, the Danish goverment’s request to transfer Al-Khawaja to Denmark for treatment was denied by Bahraini officials. Al-Khawaja has dual Danish and Barhraini citizenship.
The letter reads in part,
“We are troubled by the ongoing conflict in Bahrain, where dozens have died and hundreds more have been wounded or imprisoned for protesting the human rights violations of the Bahraini government. Given the United States’ strong relationship with Bahrain, we are in the position to advocate for democratic reforms and protest the Bahraini government’s deplorable human rights record… Al-Khawaja’s health is rapidly deteriorating, so it is critical that you call for his release and for the freedom of the other jailed activists at once.”
In the letter, we noted that we had started a petition campaign for Al-Khawaja’s release that received over 15,000 signatures.
