Bahrain Court Orders Retrial for Activists, Al-Khawaja Force Fed
A Bahraini defense lawyer announced Monday that the Bahrain appeals court has ordered the reexamination of the case of 14 jailed political figures and activists including the 81 days hunger striker Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja.
Monday's decision is seen as a victory for supporters of the activist and other opposition figures sentenced as part of the crackdowns against the uprising in the kingdom.
It was unclear, however, whether the ruling will allow the release of al-Khawaja and seven others sentenced to life in prison last year. The decision also affects six others sentenced to shorter terms.
Lawyer Mohamed al-Jishi stated that "the cases now move to a higher appeals panel for a final ruling."
Meanwhile, the wife of al-Khawaja revealed that "he was force-fed."
"I went to see my husband today and he told me that he was drugged last Monday," Khadija al-Mousawi told Reuters by phone after what she said was her first visit to her husband in two weeks.
"After he woke up he found two IV (intravenous) injections in his arms and a feeding-tube down his nose. It was done against his will," she added.
AL-Khawaja's wife said a doctor had told her husband it was his duty to start the force-feeding to keep the activist alive, however her husband saw the act as a violation of his rights.
"The activist had decided he had no choice but to accept the feeding through a nose tube and intravenous injections," she added.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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