His Majesty King Hamad last night ordered the release of Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja who had been sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of charges including inciting hatred against the government.His Majesty issued a decree “pardoning Al Khawaja from spending the rest of his sentence in jail, to suffice with the period he spent in jail before issuing this decree.”
He also ordered the release of 13 people who were arrested last month during a demonstration in support of Al Khawaja. Al Khawaja had not been present to hear the sentence handed out at the Lower Criminal Court.
The executive director of the now dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) had denied all the charges, which also included spreading false propaganda designed to destabilise security.
