Middle East Today: Bahrain --- Opposition Blogger Emerges After 2 Years

Bahraini opposition blogger Ali Abdulemam has re-emerged in public after two years.

On 17 March 2011, two days after the Government declared a state of emergency and suppressed mass protests, the activist posted via Twitter, “I get tired from my phone so I switched it of no need for rumors plz."

Suspecting he would be detained by the authorities, Abdulemam went underground without trace.

The blogger said he spent two years hiding in Bahrain before escaping to London, where he is seeking asylum.

“The time came for me to…help the uprising and to help people in Bahrain publicly instead of…hiding all this time,” Abdulemam told Al Jazeera. “I will not be able to work and to support the uprising in Bahrain if I’m inside the jail.”

While in hiding, Abdulemam was tried in absentia in a military court with 20 other activists and sentenced to 15 years in prison for charges related to "terrorism" and seeking to overthrow the government.