Political opponent, sentenced to life imprisonment for demanding respect for human rights.
I was arrested [with others] in the 1990s because of [our] political speeches and because [we] demanded DEMOCRACY, EQUALITY and JUSTICE for the people of Bahrain, its sects and races. We remained in prison for around 6 years without trial and no charges were made against us. And instead of prosecuting those who deprived us of our freedom under that unjust “State Security Law,” there was talk of pardoning us, and the question remains, pardon for what?
I was arrested again in 2007 for a few hours for my political views and my blunt rights demanding speeches that upset the regime. Then, I was arrested again in 2009 for the same reason, along with others for demanding the rights of the people in what was known as “Masrahyat Al Hujairah= Al hujairah Play” that showed the government and its failure in framing others.
In 2010, I was in London taking chemotherapy for lymphatic cancer. My treatment at first was at the expense of the health ministry (a right for every Bahraini citizen), but the ministry cut the funding in the middle of the treatment through a formal letter to my hospital. I received a copy from my hospital and published it at that time. When I got out of Bahrain I was not accused of anything, even one of the embassy employees visited me in the flat to pass the king’s greetings and to offer me a bag full of money, however, I declined and refused to accept it. Then I had some TV interviews, and in that time a framed terrorist cell was captured and I was accused of being in it, and if I had accepted the bag I would never have been accused.
Lastly, the events of February 14th started, and I was still in London to continue my treatment and I didn’t arrive in Bahrain until 26th February, 2011 and instead of considering February 14 as a representation of the will of the people and its feelings of injustice and its incidence to get its demands, we were accused of being behind all of what happened. All of my speeches and words were a representation of the people’s demands and it was patriotic, not sectarian, and it did not call for violence. Continue
