Bahraini activist to continue hunger strike

The imprisoned Bahraini human rights and political activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, has told British broadcaster the BBC that he will continue his 84-day hunger strike. A BBC correspondent, Frank Gardner, was allowed to speak with Khawaja for five minutes with his consent inside his room at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) hospital. Khawaja said his medical treatment had been good "except for the force-feeding", something officials deny. He said he had been walking for three days and appeared thin but alert. Khawaja is on hunger strike in protest at the life sentence he received from a military court in June for allegedly plotting against the state. On Monday, Bahrain's highest court ordered a retrial for Khawaja and 20 other prominent activists and opposition figures tried alongside him, seven of them in absentia. But his wife said the ruling was meaningless, and that the authorities were simply trying to buy time in the face of international pressure. Despite the court decision, Khawaja has not been released on bail and has remained under guard at the BDF hospital in Manama. On Tuesday, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner and producer Mark Georgiou were allowed to see him for five minutes with his consent. He was dressed in overalls and sitting on the edge of his bed, unrestrained. The BBC correspondent said the 51 year old was drinking fluids, and hospital staff said he was also drinking regular nutritional supplements. However, Khawaja said he would continue his hunger strike, which began on February 8. Khawaja said he had been a human rights activist for 30 years by peaceful means. Hospital staff told our correspondent that Khawaja was getting "VIP treatment" and that they had been frustrated at reports from his supporters that he was being mistreated. Khawaja's wife, Khadija al-Moussawi, told the BBC on Monday that he had been "very weak" when she visited him in hospital on Sunday. "He had been restrained and force-fed through a tube for five days, but agreed to be fed by IV [intravenous drip]," she added. She also said the Court of Cassation's ruling, which threw out his conviction by the military tribunal and ordered a retrial at a civilian court, was "ridiculous". "They are playing for time, and should have transferred his case to a civilian court at the first hearing not the third," she told the BBC. His daughter, Maryam, meanwhile argued that if Bahrain had an independent judicial system none of the dissidents would have been jailed in the first place. Maryam Khawaja said her father wanted "freedom or death", not a retrial. The Danish ambassador also renewed his call for Khawaja, who also has Danish citizenship, to be transferred to Denmark on humanitarian grounds. The Supreme Judicial Council ruled out the move last month. On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, welcomed the fact that the Bahraini authorities had "recognised the importance of moving away from military justice for civilians" but urged them to transfer Khawaja to a civilian hospital. "There is no reason for him to be held incommunicado. He should be given immediate access to his family, the Danish ambassador, a doctor and a lawyer of his own choosing," spokesman Rupert Colville said. At least 60 people are said to have been killed since protests erupted last year demanding more democracy and an end to discrimination against the majority Shia Muslim community by the Sunni royal family. King Hamad has tried to address some of the protesters' demands by announcing constitutional reforms intended to lead to greater accountability. But the opposition, as well as human rights groups, say the promises are empty and that the crackdown on dissent is continuing.