With their letter, the Martin Ennals Award defenders demanded for the release of Nabeel Rajab (Bahrain, Martin Ennals Finalist 2012) and other fellow award-winners, including Ilham Tohti (China, Martin Ennals Laureate 2016); Ahmed Mansoor (United Arab Emirates, Martin Ennals Laureate 2015) Abdullah Al-Khawaja (Bahrain, Martin Ennals Finalists 2012) and Nasrin Sotoudeh (Iran, Martin Ennals Finalist 2012).
Nabeel Rajab is co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, an organization that promotes human rights through research, training, and monitoring. He had already been sentenced to several years in prison due to charges related to freedom of expression and “spreading fake news”. According to Human Rights Watch, the situation in Bahrain remains critical even after his release on June 9 because the government continues to arrest, convict, and harass HRDs, journalists and opposition leaders - many of whom remain imprisoned.
The NHRF reported about the letter of the Martin Ennals Award finalists in April and is proud to continue supporting the Martin Ennals Foundation and their important work for human rights defenders.
Photo: Martin Ennals Foundation.