MANAMA, November 5 (RIA Novosti) — Bahrain’s Supreme Court of Appeal has set December 1 as the hearing date for Shia political activist, Maryam Khawaja, a source at the court told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
The court stated that Bahrain’s Interior Ministry's petition against 27-year old Khajawa’s arrest will be addressed starting Wednesday, making this the fourth time her case has been put off.
Khawaja was arrested at the Manama International Airport on August 30 while travelling from Denmark, where she is also a national, to visit her imprisoned father, according to a report by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
According to the watchdog, the security at the Manama International Airport revoked her Bahraini citizenship. Khawaja's Danish passport was taken and she was prohibited from using her mobile phone.
Khawaja was issued a travel ban up on her release on September 18, since which her trial has been pending. The travel ban was however lifted on October 1.
Maryam Khawaja’s father, a prominent activist, was arrested for plotting to overthrow the kingdom during the 2011 Arab uprising. Abdulhadi Khawaja went on a hunger strike against his arrest on August 26 and his health was reportedly deteriorating.
International human rights organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), have repeatedly appealed to the Bahrain’s government to stop Maryam Khajawa’s prosecution, in what the organizations refer to as a politically motivated arrest.
Maryam Khawaja, a director of the Beirut-based Gulf Center for Human Rights, is one of the many activists targeted by the Sunni-ruled kingdom. According to the OHCHR, the Kingdom has detained over 15 Shia political activists this year.
