BCHR: Al-Khawaja on Deathbed
The Bahraini Center for Human Rights released Friday an urgent appeal stating that "the Bahraini activist Abdulhadi al-khawaja may be on his deathbed."
On the 69th day on his hunger strike, al-Khawaja refused intravenous infusions from Wednesday and drink only water.
"Abdulhadi called and said he will refuse from dawn on Wednesday intravenous infusions and other liquids, except water," his wife Khadija al-Moussawi told AFP.
"His voice was weak," she added, indicating that she saw her husband on Sunday, when "I was able to visit him for an hour."
For her part, al-khawaja's daughter, who is also a prominent activist, described the visit:
"We were allowed a 1 hour visit to see my father today[Sunday].
We were escorted by police and soldiers into a small hospital room, where we were searched thoroughly several times. My father was brought to us, or a skeleton version of my father. I didn't think he could look worse than the picture we saw, but he did. He's so skinny I was surprised he could sit up to speak to us.
I can't use the word skinny, or thin. My father looks like someone who is in the final days of a long fight with a terminal illness. But as usual, he was the happiest person in the room, greeted us with a big smile. "Why do u all look so sad?" he asked.
My father's eyes were not normal, not focused. One eye looked lower than the other, he told me it's because of low blood sugar. I held my father's hand, and they were ice cold. "Do you feel cold baba?" [I asked] He said, "Yes, always cold, but that's normal at this stage."
He said, "I'm taking some juice & water, as this is my agreement with the Danish ambassador who tells me there's hope. I told the doctors here that this is the exception, if nothing changes in 2-3 days, I will go back to refusing liquids."
My father has spoken to doctors & told them in the chance he goes into a coma, he does not want an IV....Mum said, "Docs who saw you say you are in imminent danger of death." Dad smiled & said, "Whatever happens is in the interest of the people."
Al-Khawaja, who also holds Danish nationality, has been on a hunger strike since the night of February 8-9 to demand his release from prison, where he is serving a life sentence.
Meanwhile, Catherine Ashton, the chief diplomat for the European Union, on Tuesday called for his release.
Ashton said Tuesday that al-Khawaja's health is "seriously deteriorating and his life is at risk."
"The EU urges in the strongest possible terms the Bahraini authorities to find a compassionate, pragmatic and humanitarian solution ... as a matter of the utmost urgency," she said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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