Activist in Bahrain sent to detention center for 'insulting' the king

Activist in Bahrain sent to detention center for 'insulting' the king
(Image credit: Twitter.com/FatiimaHalwachi)

An activist facing charges after ripping up photographs of the King of Bahrain tore up another photo during her hearing Wednesday, and was immediately detained.

Al-Khawaja is eight months pregnant, and was released from prison in February after serving close to a year for participating in illegal protests and insulting police officers. During her hearing Wednesday, Amnesty International reports, she stated: "I am the daughter of a proud and free man. My mother brought me into this world free, and I will give birth to a free baby boy even if it is inside our prisons."

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Al-Khawaja comes from a family of activists; her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence for participating in 2011 protests against the government, while her sister, Maryam al-Khawaja, is on trial for assaulting a police officer who questioned her at the airport (she says she is innocent). If Zainab al-Khawaja is convicted, she could face up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $26,500.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.