Islam Times - Bahrainis gather outside UN office

Islam Times - Thousands of Bahrainis have gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in the capital, Manama, to demand the immediate release of the country’s top human rights activist.

The protest gathering dubbed ''sovereignty for the nation'' aimed at drawing attention to the detention of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and to ask for UN intervention to help his release.

Khawaja, the co-founder and former president of the Bahrain Center for Human Right, was sentenced to life in prison by a military court last year. He is currently on a hunger strike to protest against his detention and Manama’s brutal crackdown on protests.

In April, Bahrain sentenced eight opposition leader to life in jail for "plotting to overthrow the government" as part of Manama crackdown on protests.

Protesters also condemned the human rights violations committed by the Bahraini regime and rejected any kind of dialogue with the regime until it has been held accountable for rights violations.

Bahrain has been hit been witnessing a wave of anti-regime protests since February 2011. Dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded in the regime's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

Despite the ongoing crackdown, anti-regime protests continue in the Persian Gulf kingdom and there is no sign of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty stepping down.