Brussels, 11/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 April, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton called on the authorities in Bahrain to take action to ensure that the life of the human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is protected. He has been on a hunger strike for two months to protest against his life sentence for the role he played in the protest movement last year. His health is continuing to deteriorate.
While Schulz said: “The Bahraini authorities have the power and responsibility to avert a looming tragedy”, Ashton appealed to the authorities in Bahrain to immediately re-establish consular access to al-Khawaja. Schulz also asked for al-Khawaja's family and humanitarian organisations to be allowed to visit him. The president of the European Parliament called on the Bahraini government to follow up on its pledge to open up to internal dialogue, reform and reconciliation. Ashton and Schulz both explained that they were following the situation very closely. (CG/transl.fl)