Bahrain 1st-Hand: A Family Visit to Detained Hunger Striker Abdulhadi Alkhawaja

Mum said "docs who saw u say u r in imminent danger of death" Dad smiled & said "whatever happens is in the interest of the ppl" #bahrain

— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) April 15, 2012

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The family of detained human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, was finally allowed to see him in a military hospital on Day 67 of his hunger strike. Zainab Alkhawaja, also a prominent activist, describes the visit:

We were allowed a 1 hr visit to see my father today.

We were escorted by police and soldiers into a small hospital room, where we were searched thoroughly several times. My father was brought to us, or a skeleton version of my father. I didn't think he could look worse than the picture we saw, but he did. He's so skinny I was surprised he could sit up to speak to us.

I can't use the word skinny, or thin. My father looks like some1 who is in the final days of a long fight with a terminal illness. But as usual, he was the happiest person in the room, greeted us with a big smile. "Why do u all look so sad?" he asked.

My father's eyes were not normal, not focused. One eye looked lower than the other, he told me it's because of low blood sugar. I held my fathers hand, and they were ice cold. "Do you feel cold baba?" [I asked] He said, "Yes, always cold, but that's normal at this stage."...

He said, "I'm taking some juice & water, as this is my agreement with the Danish ambassador who tells me there's hope. I told the doctors here that this is the exception, if nothing changes in 2-3 days, I will go back to refusing liquids."

My father has spoken to doctors & told them in the chance he goes into a coma, he does not want an IV....Mum said, "Docs who saw you say you are in imminent danger of death." Dad smiled & said, "Whatever happens is in the interest of the people."