HRW: Bahraini activists must be freed

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Bahraini authorities to release detained activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and 13 other jailed leaders of last year's anti-government protests immediately. The rights watchdog said the authorities have produced no evidence that the jailed leaders were doing anything other than exercising their basic human rights. The group's call to release them followed Monday's announcement by the government that a civilian re-trial will be held for the imprisoned activists, who were earlier detained by military courts. Referring to the original trial, HRW said: "A special military court convicted the 14 protest leaders, along with seven others tried in absentia, of offences related to peaceful political activities – speeches they made, meetings they attended, documents found on their computers, as well as calling for and participating in street protests between February 14 and March 15, 2011. "The trial also violated numerous international fair trial standards and relied on apparently coerced confessions. Al-Khawaja and seven others were sentenced to life in prison; the others were sentenced to between 2 and 15 years." Al-Khawaja has been on a hunger strike since February 8, demanding freedom for himself and his co-defendants. Protesters have rallied around him and demonstrations reportedly go out everyday. Shiite citizens of the island Gulf country have been demostrating against the ruling Sunni al-Khalifa family to protest what they see as deep-set discrimination towards the country's Shiias.he tex