JStone
Rookie
- Jun 29, 2011
- 13,374
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- Banned
- #841
Bahrain Activist’s Hunger Strike Belies Image of Calm Ahead of Formula One Race
Two weeks before Bahrain is scheduled to hold a prestigious international motor race, the kingdom’s attempts to project an image of calm were shattered on Friday when the police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters in the capital, Manama. As The Associated Press reports, the security forces dispersed marchers demanding the release of a leading rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for 58 days.
The Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race, which was canceled last year amid concerns about a crackdown on dissent, is supposed to begin on April 20, under the banner, “Unified: One Nation in Celebration.”
Mr. Khawaja, the jailed founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was one of eight opposition leaders sentenced to life in prison by a special security court for “plotting to topple the government” of the kingdom through pro-democracy demonstrations.
The activist’s lawyer told Reuters that his client was moved to a military hospital and fed intravenously on Friday after his health deteriorated sharply.
Late Thursday, Mr. Khawaja’s daughter, Zainab, was arrested outside the interior ministry clinic where he was being held. Several brief video clips shot surreptitiously by activists driving past the ministry building captured what they said was Ms. Khawaja’s voice, as she shouted “baba” — Arabic for “papa” — to her father inside.
Bahrain Activist's Hunger Strike Belies Image of Calm Ahead of Formula One Race - NYTimes.com
I wouldn't think muslimes would name their daughter Zainab given the scandalous history of the name: Zainab was muhammad's daughter in law whom he married after his adopted son divorced Zainab, which caused outrage even among his own people who viewed it as a form of incest. Islimic history tells about how muhammad was sexually attracted to Zainab. Good thing a message from allah arrived conveniently, as it always did, saying the marriage of muhammad to his former daughter in law was halal.
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