Alwaght- A senior United Nations official has urged the Bahraini regime to immediately release opposition activist Zainab al-Khawaja.
In a statement released on Friday, Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, called on Bahrain to release the activist who was recently detained along with her year-old son in the repressive Persian Gulf Kingdom.
Al-Khawaja is a daughter of a prominent activist serving a life sentence over 2011 Islamic Awakening-inspired protests in the small nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
She faces several years in prison on a variety of charges linked to her activism, including tearing up pictures of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Meanwhile, on Friday hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Bahrain to protest the continued imprisonment of prominent cleric and opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman.
Protesters staged a rally in the northwestern village of Diraz following Friday prayers, demanding the freedom of Salman, who is the secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society. On Wednesday also, demonstrators staged a rally in the town of A'ali, situated about three kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of the capital, Manama, shouting anti-regime slogans and demanding the downfall of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, has been scene of protests against the dictatorial Al Khalifa monarchy since 2011. Bahrainis are demanding more political freedoms and an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty.
In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protests.
Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the crackdowns.
Human rights groups frequently condemn the Bahraini regime over the flagrant violation of human rights and heavy handedness in dealing with anti-regime protesters. Western countries especially the US and Britain continue to support and army the repressive Bahraini regime.
