Missing in Bahrain: On Ali Abdulemam (Video)

Ali Abdulemam, founder and creator of BahrainOnline.org and a leading social media activist in the Gulf region, has been missing in Bahrain since March 2011. Just a few weeks before Ali went missing, he was released from prison as a result of the widespread protests at Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain. Ali had been sentenced the previous summer, having been hounded by Bahraini authorities seeking to limit free speech and internet freedom in the country.  In prison, he suffered severe torture, which led to his profound fear of re-arrest in March 2011. Along with other human rights defenders and political activists, Ali was sentenced by a Bahraini National Safety Court (essentially a military tribunal) in absentia. This video, made in cooperation with Ali's family, calls attention to his plight and demands that all charges against Ali be dropped, as per the recommendation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report, which insisted that all cases of punishment of free expression be dismissed. Ali's whereabouts are unknown, and it is unknown whether or not the Bahraini authorities have disappeared Ali.  Visit Front Line Defenders' campaign site for Bahraini human rights defenders at www.bahrainhrd.org for more information about Ali and other human rights defenders in Bahrain.