According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Zainab Al Khawaja, a blogger and daughter of prominent human rights activist, Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, was arrested on December 15 for participating in “OccupyBudaiya Street,” an initiative organized by protesters in Bahrain through Facebook and Twitter. “Like all peaceful protests in Bahrain, OccupyBudaiya was prevented and violently attacked by riot police.  Tear gas, rubber bullets and sound grenades were used to suppress the protesters. Many injuries have been reported.”

The Washington Post reports that Al Khawaja, who is well known on Twitter for tweeting on human rights abuses in Bahrain as Angry Arabiya, was briefly arrested earlier this year as well during a court hearing at which her father was jailed for life and her uncle was also imprisoned.  

In addition to Al Khawaja’s arrest, the Bahraini government has targeted Nabeel Rajab, who serves as the director of the Bahrain Human Rights Society and the Gulf Center for Human Rights.  Rajab’s house was reportedly tear gassed last night with his family inside after he appeared on television to discuss the 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, which he received earlier this year from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The World Movement calls for Al Khawaja’s immediate release and asks World Movement participants to contact their governments, human rights bodies and other intergovernmental institutions to protest her arrest and ill-treatment. The World Movement also expresses its solidarity with Nabeel Rajab and his family and calls on the Bahraini government to cease its harassment of them.

For more information, go to:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/bahraini-police-use-tear-gas-stun-grenades-to-disperse-protesters-marching-toward-capital/2011/12/15/gIQATSOivO_story.html

http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/4905