Abdulhadi al-Khawaja taking part in a pro-democracy protest in February 2011
Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja (Arabic: عبد الهادي عبد الله حبيل الخواجة, romanized: ʻAbd al-Hādī ʻAbd Allāh Ḥubayl al-Khawājah; born 5 April 1961) is a Bahraini political activist. On 22 June 2011, al-Khawaja and eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment following the suppression of pro-democracy protests against the Bahraini government. Al-Khawaja has previously gone on a series of hunger strikes while serving his life sentence, in protest of the political conditions in Bahrain.
He is former president and co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), a nonprofit non-governmental organization which works to promote human rights in Bahrain. He has held a number of positions and played various roles in regional and international human rights organizations. (Full article...)
The Bahrain Fort is composed of an artificial mound created by human inhabitants from 2300 BC up to the 1700's. Among other things, it was once the capital of the Dilmun civilization, and served more recently as a Portuguese fort. For these reasons, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
Some opposition parties supported the protests' plans, while others did not explicitly call for demonstration. However, they demanded deep reforms and changes similar to those by the youth. Before the start of protests, the cabinet of Bahrain had introduced a number of economic and political concessions. The protests started with a sit-in in solidarity with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 in the vicinity of the Egyptian embassy in the capital Manama ten days before the Day of Rage. On the eve of 14 February, security forces dispersed hundreds of protesters south of Manama. (Full article...)
Image 20The emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa heads the opening session of the first conference on the formation of a union of the Gulf emirates in February 1968. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 21Protesters at the Pearl Roundabout just before it was demolished. (from Bahrain)
Image 22Bahrain is the eleventh most water stressed country in the world. (from Bahrain)
Image 23Manama Souq on Bahrain National Day (from Bahrain)
Image 48Over 100,000 of Bahrainis taking part in the "March of Loyalty to Martyrs", honoring political dissidents killed by security forces, on 22 February. (from History of Bahrain)
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
... that infectious diseases specialist Jameela Al Salman has supported the development of medical robots and called their use in Bahrain a "pioneering experiment"?
... that as part of Bahrainization, the Bahraini government prohibited foreigners from driving taxis?
... that Bahraini businesswoman Yara Salman founded a beauty salon, a medical center, an entertainment complex, and a restaurant in the past decade?