BAHRAIN / Detained April 9, 2011
Bahraini authorities arrested Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, former President and Co-Founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), for his involvement in the country’s peaceful 2011 pro-democracy Pearl Uprising. Three months later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly organizing and managing a “terrorist organization,” (which most civil society organizations are classified as in Bahrain), and attempting to overthrow the government.