Danish human rights activist remains imprisoned in Bahrain after 15 years
Thursday 28th May 2026 on 22:30 in
Denmark
A Danish citizen and prominent human rights defender has spent 15 years in a Bahraini prison following his arrest during pro-democracy protests in 2011, despite repeated interventions by successive Danish governments, newly disclosed accounts from former ministers reveal.
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, 65, was sentenced to life imprisonment after participating in peaceful demonstrations during Bahrain’s Arab Spring uprising, according to a Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) investigation. His detention—marked by allegations of torture, sexual violence, and a hunger strike in protest of his conditions—has drawn sustained criticism from Danish officials, the European Parliament, Amnesty International, and UN human rights experts.
Former Danish foreign ministers Villy Søvndal (SF) and Martin Lidegaard (Radikale Venstre) confirmed in DR’s Genstart Dox podcast that secret diplomatic efforts to secure Al-Khawaja’s release have failed. “It is a disgrace for Denmark,” Søvndal said. “We have a duty to protect Danish citizens abroad, especially those who have never committed any act illegal under Danish law.”
Lidegaard called the efforts “unsatisfactory,” adding, “We did everything possible. The fact that it failed is not acceptable to anyone.”
Al-Khawaja’s arrest in April 2011 was violent: masked police raided his home, beat him unconscious, broke his jaw, and dragged him down stairs, according to his daughter Maryam Al-Khawaja and the 2011 Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report. He was later convicted on charges including “attempting to overthrow the monarchy,” “spying for Iran,” and “terrorism financing”—allegations both former ministers dismissed as baseless.
In 2011, Denmark launched a covert consular mission, dispatching its ambassador in Riyadh to Bahrain for weeks of negotiations. “The ambassador made clear that Denmark was building alliances to isolate Bahrain internationally if the case wasn’t resolved,” Søvndal said. Despite initial optimism, the mission collapsed.
Al-Khawaja, a dual Danish-Bahraini national, has maintained his innocence. His continued imprisonment has prompted personal appeals from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who wrote to him in 2025 acknowledging the “unfortunate” detention and its toll on his health and family.