(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - It's hard to keep track of how many times Bahraini Twitter activist Zainab Al-Khawaja, 28, has been in and out of jail. Al-Khawaja (@angryarabiya) is facing more than a dozen charges this year alone for speaking out about human rights violations in Bahrain, where dozens of people have been killed since pro-democracy protests began in February 2011.
Officially, Al-Khawaja has been jailed for "illegally" protesting, insulting the King, and inciting hatred against the regime. A "disrupting traffic" charge was made after she staged a one-person protest outside the prison where her father, human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence for his role in organising protests.
During her numerous arrests, she has been abused by police, who enforce the will of the regime – and thus have not been punished for their crimes. At a June protest, she seriously injured her leg when security forces shot a tear gas canister at her. The cast on her leg did not stop them from handcuffing her and dragging her down stairs when they arrested her after another one-person protest in August. She was kept in jail for two months following that arrest, which was hard on her young daughter.
In its report released on 23 November 2011, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) noted a "culture of impunity" for abuses committed by security forces and police during the protests. Yet despite the inquiry being ordered by the King himself, very few people have been held accountable, allowing for ongoing violations.
Despite being an obvious target, Al-Khawaja won't stop protesting. "We have a king who has been killing and torturing his own people. We should have the right to protest against that," she said after the authorities banned all demonstrations in October 2012.
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