Great News! Woman Activist Released in Bahrain

Zainab al-Khawaja was released on 20 February after having been arrested on 12 February for participating in a protest. She was charged with "illegal gathering".

Zainab al-Khawaja, a Bahraini activist, was arrested on 12 February 2012 while she was participating in a march towards the GCC roundabout (also known as Pearl Roundabout) in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The march marked the first anniversary of the beginning of the ongoing unrest in Bahrain. She was allowed to contact a lawyer after her arrest and on 13 February she was taken to the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) for questioning. She was charged with having taken part in an ‘illegal gathering of more than five people’ and ‘participating in an illegal march’. She was given a seven-day detention order pending an investigation into the charges. She was released on 20 February and her lawyer reportedly said that when prosecutors released her from prison, they did not give any indication if the charges against her had been dropped.

Thank you to all who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the Urgent Action network. We will continue monitoring the situation and if there are further developments on this case we will take action accordingly.