Salah Al-Khawaja

BIOGRAPHY

Date of Arrest: 17 March 2011
Prison Sentence: 5 years
Torture: Beatings, ill and degrading treatment, doused in cold water, forced standing
Health: Requires rehabilitation for torture

Salah Al-Khawaja, brother to Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is a well-known political activist. During the uprising in 2011, he sought to document events and contact international media. Al-Khawaja was arrested on 17 March 2011 at two in the morning, when National Security Agency officials broke down the doors and raided his house, and also confiscated everything they could find. They also took Al-Khawaja’s wife to another room where they ripped off her headscarf, kicked, punched, and verbally harassed her. Al-Khawaja, who was arrested on the second floor of the house, was then thrown from the roof of the house on the orders of the commanding officer. On the way to the National Security office, Al Qa’lah, Al-Khawaja was subjected to beating that included kicking and punching all over his body as well as on the genitals. As a result, he was wounded near his left eye.

While in detention Al-Khawaja was subjected to torture and ill-treatment that included beatings, being doused with cold water, having guards spit in his mouth, as well as being forced to kiss the shoes of his interrogators. Officials also verbally abused, and threatened to sexually assault his wife and other female relatives. He was sentenced to five years in prison by a special military court in what has widely been condemned as an unjust trial.

Download Salah’s card here.

Court Testimony

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