“Their freedom is their right” (“#حريتهم_حقهم”) is a campaign for defending the rights of prisoners of conscience launched by Maharat Foundation and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) initiated on 04 May 2014. The campaign was also joined by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), in addition to the members of the Arab Group in the IFEX network, who nominated Bahraini human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja to be the campaign’s prisoner of the month during April 2016.

Al-Khawaja was arrested on 14 March 2016 by security forces after being convicted on a number of charges including for simply tearing up a picture of the monarch, considered a crime in Bahrain, and for insulting a public official.” According to reports received from the family by GCHR, the treatment was bad on the first day. The police kept Al-Khawaja in Al-Hoora police station for over five hours, and she was carrying her 15-month-old son Abdulhadi the entire time. She had recently had a medical procedure on her leg so it was difficult. She requested food for Abdulhadi several times but they kept saying they had no food.

Wafi Al-Majed, Al-Khawaja’s husband, said the arrest of his wife was surprising, given the fact that the court decision was upheld earlier but the detention has not been carried out immediately, adding that he believes the arrest of Al-Khawaja aims only to cast a blackout on other emerging human rights issues. They include the withdrawal of nationality from some Bahraini activists; and the deportation of a number of members of the Lebanese community in Bahrain on charges related to their sympathy with Hezbollah. The timing also coincides with the participation of Zainab’s sister Maryam Al-Khawaja, GCHR’s Co-Director, at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.

Also, Al-Majed confirmed that there is a general crackdown on human rights defenders, which is a growing trend at the moment, and Zanab’s arrest comes as a result.

Bahraini courts have sentenced Al-Khawaja to a total of three years and one month in prison, as well as a fine of BHD 3,000 (almost USD$8,000), on several charges related to her peaceful dissent and free expression. In December 2014, a court sentenced her to prison on charges related to allegedly insulting a police officer during a peaceful protest and insulting the king by tearing up a photograph. In October 2015, Bahrain’s appeals court confirmed her conviction for insulting the king but reduced her sentence from three years to one year in prison. On 02 February 2016, a nine-month prison sentence was upheld in absentia for “entering a restricted area” at Jaw Prison when she tried to visit her father, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, when he was on hunger strike in August 2014. He is a prominent human rights defender and co-founder of GCHR.

In a letter from prison shortly after her arrest, Al-Khawaja wrote: “As I walked up to the prison door carrying my baby, I realized that I had walked through that door on crutches, I had walked through that door pregnant, and I had been carried through that door by police. Five years have passed since the start of the revolution in Bahrain; five years of systematic aggression on the people of this country whose only wish was to seek equal rights and democracy.”

She continued, “It’s hard to look pain in the eyes and acknowledge it, but that’s exactly what I ask everyone to do. Yes there are governments willing to turn a blind eye to our suffering and shake hands with those who oppress us, but I also believe that there are enough good people in the world who recognize the good fight, who admire a people who sacrifice in the hope for a better future, and who can’t stand by silently in the face of oppression.”

About “Their freedom is their right” campaign:

The “Their freedom is their right” campaign was launched on 04 May 2015 to mark World Press Freedom Day (03 May). (See gohod.net) It is designed to highlight the cases of Arab prisoners of conscience and those behind bars for expressing their freedom of opinion in a peaceful way, through writing articles, commenting on Facebook, publishing photos, participating in a peaceful demonstration, lifting a banner, tweeting on Twitter, contributing though a work of art or speaking in a meeting.

The campaign highlights an Arab prisoner of conscience on a monthly basis, in order to support his or her right to freedom as a fundamental requirement for all prisoners of conscience. The campaign also demands the protection of prisoners of conscience from torture, supports the right to a fair trial, calls for improved prison conditions and protection from abuse, and asks those responsible to ensure prisoners receive the needed treatment. The right of every Arab citizen to freedom of expression is a right and not a gift, whether we agree or not. The words don’t go to court. The opinion is not punishable by law. So, the affiliated organizations to this campaign see that the duty of everyone is to participate in defending these rights. 

The Egyptian student Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed, the Saudi rights activist Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Kuwaiti journalist Ayad Al-Harbi, Qatari poet Mohammed Al-Ajami, Omani poet and blogger Muawiya Rawahi, Mauritanian lawyer Biram Dah Abeid, Bahraini human rights defender Abduljalil Al-Singace, Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayyad, Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Syrian human rights defender and lawyer Razan Zaitouneh  and Egyptian journalist Hesham Jaafar were the prisoners of the campaign for the past 11 months.

Members of the “Their freedom is their right” campaign:

– Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)

– Maharat Foundation

– Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)

– Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

– Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)

– MARCH

– Social Media Exchange (SMEX)

– Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)

– Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State

– I’lam Arab Center for Media Freedom Development and Research

– Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)

Zainab Al-Khawja Profile

Name: Zainab Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja

Age: 33 years

Occupation: Human Rights Defender

Nationality: Bahrain

Status: under arrest since 14 March 2016 with her 15-month-old baby Abdul Hadi, after being convicted of a number of charges including “tearing up a photo of the King,” and “insulting a public official” (a police officer.)

What you can do:

1. Publish a picture of human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja and her baby on your Facebook and/or Twitter account using the hashtag: #FreeZainabAndBaby.
2. Send an e-mail to the Office of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister of Bahrain email: info@khalifabinsalman.com or call the numbers: +973 17200000 to +973 17200000, calling for Prime Minister to release human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja.
3. Write to the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs in Bahrain at the following address: PO Box 450, Manama, Diplomatic Area, Bahrain, or call the numbers: +973 17513000 – Fax: +973 17536343,
4. Communicate with the Ministry of Justice through their web page on the following link: http: // www.moj.gov.bh/default76a7.html?action=category&ID=159 asking the Justice Department to release human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja.
5. Send an e-mail to the Shura Council at e-mail: info@shura.gov.bh demanding the Shura Council call for the release of human rights defender Zainab Al-Khawaja.
6. Write to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders at: urgent-action@ohchr.org