Netizens around the world have expressed their great concern over the deteriorating state [1] of Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja [2]. The Bahraini authorities sentenced [3] him to life imprisonment last year, and he has been on hunger strike [4] since February 8, 2012 to draw attention to his detention. Bahrain has ruled out [5] his extradition to Denmark as he is also a Danish citizen.
Netizens have been tweeting for his release using various hashtags, such as #StopKillingKhawaja [6].
[7]A banner calling for the release of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, September 14, 2011. Photo from Flickr by William Murphy (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's daughter, Maryam Alkhawaja [8], tweeted:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA [9]: today, 8th april, is one year since Abdulhadi Alkhawaja's arrest, when he was beaten unconscious in front of his family #bahrain
Another of his daughters, Zainab Alkhawaja [10], tweeted:
@angryarabiya [11]: At this time last year my father was taken to the same military hospital he lies in now #bahrain
@angryarabiya [12]: He had to undergo a 4 hour surgery in his face, they took bone from his skull to reconstruct his jaw #bahrain
@angryarabiya [13]: And today, again… my father lays in one of their hospital beds. Starving to death for freedom #bahrain
Ali Abunimah [14], a Palestinian-American journalist and activist, tweeted:
@AliAbunimah [15]:#StopKillingKhawaja Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is a man of conscience and courage. He deserves to live free.
Professor and political activist John C. Berg has called for Americans to put pressure on Bahrain:
@jcberg [16]: Time for US progressives to pay attention to
#Bahrain [17]; leading HR leader in prison, hunger strike, nr death
Rasha Abdulla, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo, tweeted from a protest at the Bahraini Embassy in Cairo:
Ruwayda Mustafa, a British-Kurdish writer and feminist, announced a protest in London:
@RuwaydaMustafa [19]: We will be protesting in Solidarity w/Abdulhadi al Khawaja in London on Tuesday. Please join us! #StopKillingKhawaja
On April 8 activists hacked [20] the Facebook page of Bahrain’s national airline, Gulf Air, and replaced its logo with a picture of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja.