"And so, predictably, the abuses continue. On Saturday one of Bahrain’s — and the Arab world’s — best-known advocates of human rights, Maryam al-Khawaja, was arrested at the country’s international airport. Ms. Khawaja, who had been living abroad, was attempting to enter the country in order to visit her father, a peaceful critic of the regime; since 2011, he has been unjustly imprisoned on trumped-up terrorism charges. Ms. Khawaja, who is 27 years old and under 5 feet tall, was accused of assaulting airport police; she says she was roughed up by four officers. Her supporters believe she may face more charges when she is brought to court this Saturday.
Ms. Khawaja’s real offense, as the al-Khalifa regime no doubt sees it, has been her tireless advocacy for Bahrainis who have been arrested, tortured or killed in the past several years while attempting to advocate for peaceful democratic reforms. A fluent English speaker who spent a year at Brown University on a Fulbright scholarship, Ms. Khawaja has been particularly conspicuous in Washington, where she has met with members of Congress and senior U.S. officials. In 2012, Washington-based Freedom House presented her with its Freedom Award in recognition of her work and that of her father and sister."
Ms. Khawaja’s real offense, as the al-Khalifa regime no doubt sees it, has been her tireless advocacy for Bahrainis who have been arrested, tortured or killed in the past several years while attempting to advocate for peaceful democratic reforms. A fluent English speaker who spent a year at Brown University on a Fulbright scholarship, Ms. Khawaja has been particularly conspicuous in Washington, where she has met with members of Congress and senior U.S. officials. In 2012, Washington-based Freedom House presented her with its Freedom Award in recognition of her work and that of her father and sister."
