During the 2011 uprising, Al-Khawaja led peaceful pro-democracy protests across Bahrain and organized peaceful awareness-raising and human rights education.

On 9 April 2011, Al-Khawaja was violently arrested, resulting in multiple injuries, most notably four fractures in his cheekbone and jaw. In June 2011, Al-Khawaja was tried by a special military court together with other well-known opposition leaders, known as the “Bahrain 13”. Here, Al-Khawaja was sentenced to life in prison, despite grave concerns from the international community about unfair trials that did not comply with Bahraini criminal law or international fair trial standards.

During his arrest and time in prison, Al-Khawaja has been systematically tortured, physically and sexually abused, and subjected to lengthy solitary confinement. He has been denied access to adequate medical treatment. As a direct consequence of his imprisonment, torture and several hunger strikes, Al-Khawaja’s health is in dire need of attention.

The Peace & Justice Project joins the calls on the Bahraini government to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

Find out more about the campaign and get involved: freealkhawaja.org