Alwaght- Bahraini regime has released prominent female human rights campaigner, Zainab al-Khawaja, who has been in prison with her toddler since March.
According to the public prosecution statement carried by state news agency BNA, a Bahraini judge ordered her release and that of another mother “on account of their humanitarian situation and for the well-being and interests of their children.”
The 32-year-old activist was taken to custody with her 17-month-old boy for tearing up a poster of Bahrain's king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Her father, Abdulhadi, is already serving a life sentence for encouraging peaceful protest.
The statement did not mention what the charges were against the other mother, named as Irina Bojutova.
Meanwhile, Zainab’s sister Maryam al-Khawaja, who is the co-director of the Guld Center for Human Rights (GCHR), has said the charges against her still stand and she could be returned to prison anytime.
“Obviously, we are delighted, but what is important and what needs to change in Bahrain is the system that saw her put in prison in the first place. Yes, she has been released but there is no guarantee she won’t be rearrested in a few weeks or a few months,” she said.
Bahraini authorities had earlier rejected a request by al-Khawaja to allow toddler out of jail, Zainab was suffering from a severe flu and could not take care of her son. Prison authorities had even refused to let Khawaja’s mother, Khadija al-Mousawi, see her grandson.
Human rights groups frequently condemn the Bahraini regime over the flagrant violation of human rights and heavy handedness in dealing with anti-regime protesters.
Few days ago, Bahrain's High Appeals Court has extended the jail term of prominent Opposition Leader, Sheikh Ali Salman to more than a double from 4 to 9 years today.
The High Criminal Court had acquitted Sheikh Salman in June 2015 of charges of attempting to overthrow the regime in Manama by force, while convicting and sentencing him to two years in prison over charges of inciting hatred against a particular sect and insulting the Interior Ministry. Sheikh Salman was also handed down a two-year jail term over disobedience of the law.
