Hassan Mushaima, leader of the Bahraini political opposition, was imprisoned in 2011 following the peaceful protests that swept the country’s capital, Manama, during the Arab Spring. In this article, his son, Ali Mushaima – following a surge in international attention over human rights violations in Bahrain, demands that the UK government reconsider its relationship with the al-Khalifa regime and help to secure his father’s release.
I was only 15 years old when I was arrested, imprisoned and tortured, during the 1994-1999 Intifada, the peaceful mass protests that demanded constitutional change.
During this time, my father, Hassan Mushaima, had already spent six years in prison, due to his early involvement in the pro-democracy protests. Over the past three decades, he has spent many more years in prison for his activism and leading role in Bahrain’s political opposition.
