Zainab Alkhawaja (AngryArabiya) Update

By John Ballard

Bahrain activist Zainab Alkhawaja's Twitter feed has been inactive for the past few weeks as she continued a hunger strike and other efforts to bring attention to her family's abuse at the hands of authorities.
Yesterday she was summoned to the police station for questioning then released.
She broke the silence and here is her account via Twitter beginning here.

Big Salamz to all of you great people out there, & THANK YOU for being by my side today :D
last time I saw my father, in court, he said they had threatened him and told him they had a case ready against me.
they also told him, if theres going to be any dialogue then @maryamalkhawaja [her sister] & @NABEELRAJAB need to stop what they're doing

I went today expecting the worse... wearing 2 tops for the beating I was expecting. :)
I entered the police station with Mary on my right and my lawyer on my left, but two minutes later was separated form them lol
A police woman asked me "Are we that scary that u brought some1 from human rights with u"
I laughed & said "Nop, ur not scary @ all"
I think it was them who were afraid to see Mary from frontline there with me :)

I sat waiting in a room with 6 or 7 police for an hour, Mary came to say bye cuz she had to leave, 2 minutes later i was called
As soon as I got into the lieutenants room she asked me "Were you in any of the protests that were without permits" @UUJames Hi James :)
I said "I refuse to answer any questions if my lawyer isn't present".
She looked shocked & said "u watch too many american movies!"
she cntd "this is Bahrain, not the US. I will ask & you will answer my questions!"

I continued to refuse to answer any q's when I cntnd to refuse she said again "yes u do watch 2 many american movies"
I answered "I do, but I also know alot about human rights" she finally gave in, said I didn't understand anything, and called in my lawyer.

then she got out a picture, A4 black n white. with ppl holding up signs, stuck it in my face, and said "WELL who is THAT"

I answered "I dunno, this pic is not clear @ all"

She said "come on, u know its u"

I said "no, I dont, its not clear"

they took me to the officer, and he had the same picture. "So we know its u. we've brought u here becuz u took part in an illegal gathering"
then my lawyer said "is this an interrogation? why isn't everything being written?"

she got scolded n told she'll get kicked out went bak to the pic and said "why wont u just say its u, & tell us where it was taken"

I said cuz the pic is unclear & I dont kno if its me

so he said "you think we cant get the original photo?"
they took me out so they can look for the original photo

they brought me back an hour later to the female police, n she had a diff pic, which I immediately said was me.
so basically a pic of me @ home, with a sign that says I'm against torture.

She was v. happy I said it was me. "Its you, u admit it, I have a clearer pic if u want"

I said " no its clear enuf and its me" I said "u brought me here for the "crime" of illegal gathering. this is a pic of me alone, and at home"

she replied " I dont write the charges, they'll deal with that in the prosecution." she said "go sign ur statement & a pledge that u will show up wen prosecution calls u or else we will have to do wats necessary."

I said I'll only sign if it doesn't mention any pictures, cuz their might be confusion which picture I said was me so finally I signed a statement that said.

"Q: Did u join an illegal gathering.
A: I refuse to answer"

1 of the police women there, had beaten me up a few yrs back, wen I was with families of detainees peacefully demanding visits but she didn't recognize me. she probably beats up alot of ppl. Oh I 4got to tell u guys, be4 i left the interrogation room the woman said to me "maybe u shud start eating, its not good wat ur doing" lol Now I'm home safe & sound, but many of my bahraini sisters & brother r in jail, being interrogated, tortured and humiliated. including my husband whose 30th birthday was a couple of days ago.
its been 55 days since arrest of my dad, husband & brother in law. It hasn't been easy, but I'm amongst bravest ppl, the ppl of Bahrain I really wished I cud tweet this past month, abt my dads trail especially, but fearing for safety others around me I chose not to. @epideme12 wow so much has happened in this month, I need to write a book not tweet about it. Its been v. difficult.

As for my father, I have sat in court n saw him ignored by judge as he said he had been tortured. I sat in another court & saw my father silenced when he said he was being threatened with death and a third trial I saw my father get thrown out of courtroom when he said he had to bang his head against the ground to avoid being raped all because my father wouldn't apologize to the king on video @EffieLewis he's in the same case with my father, everytime theres a trail we see them both for 10-30 minutes in our meetings with my father he has told us alot of heartbreaking things.

my father told me that the most horrible time was after his four hour surgery, after he had three fractures in his face My father was brought out of surgery with his eyes blindfolded & one arm handcuffed to the bed and IV on the other. he was blindfolded the whole 6 days he was in hospital. every couple of hrs security would come into his room 2 torture him psychologically as he lay in hospital bed blindfolded, they told him that they had arrested me, raped me and sent me to a prison in Saudi. they bring my father to court, and the others with him, blindfolded and with sacks on their heads, like Guantanomo. ... hope never dies. my father comes to each trial with his head held high. he sees me in and gives me a thumbs up

I sat in court trying to control my anger as I heard same ppl who beat up my father, lying on witness stand, after swearing 2 tell the truth The same ppl who broke our door n beat up my father, said they knocked, that they showed identification & that my father resisted As one of the lying witnesses who broke my fathers jaw walked out of court, my eye caught his, & I wondered wat kinda humans are these? my father looks so different now, 1 man who knows him saw him last trial, he was so shocked he hugged him and started weeping.

It broke my heart when my father said he was thirsty when we met him after the 1st trial. we weren't allowed to even take water to him. its better now. we took a bag of food with us the last couple of times for him :) my father & uncle are in the same prison, but both in solitary confinement. they only see each other in court after 1 trial we hid 2 dates in a tissue 4 my dad & uncle.both refused to eat wanting the other 2 eat both dates.

my dad & uncle r in military prison. my husband, bro in law r in normal prison becuz we're only allowed to see my dad after trial, we have to wait until the 22nd of this month. last trial I was supposed to be a witness and speak abt the brutal arrest of my father, the judge refused to hear me & other witnesses a lawyer was sent by frontline to observe trial, she was treated v. badly & our visit with my father was canceled as punishment 4 all of u who r sad, one visit with my dad we were all very upset.

Trying our best not to cry, & my father said this to us: cntd. "whenever I'm sad I close my eyes & think of all of our wonderful memories. God gave us gr8 memories 2 help us thru these rough times" dad after not knowing wen I'll see my baby next, now it feels like every minute with her is a gift, not that it didn't feel that way be4 :)

so goodnight all, & remember the good old days. When I was tweeting bout hope, peace & unity. Not torture & misery. Love from Bahrain

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The bravery and discipline of these people humbles me. I have not seen this measure of effective non-violent direct action since the American civil rights movement. Over time there will only be one outcome. There may be more casualties. The toll of lives lost and suffering endured is sometimes beyond measure. But in the end stopping the human urge to be free is as empty an endeavor as attempting to stop an earthquake or volcano. One way or another it's gonna happen.