[The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) issued the following press release on 10 January 2013.]
The Acting President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and Deputy Director for the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), Maryam Al-Khawaja, has decided to travel to Bahrain on Friday, 11 January 2013.
The primary purpose of Maryam Al-Khawaja’s trip to Bahrain will be to visit her father and uncle in prison as well as to see family members. Additionally, she will be observing the human rights situation on the ground as her colleagues Nabeel Rajab and Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdhah remain in prison.
She arrives in Bahrain at 8pm Bahrain time on Friday and will be staying there for approximately two weeks. Al-Khawaja will be traveling with her Danish passport, getting a visa at the Bahraini airport, due to the expiration of her Bahraini passport.
Maryam Al-Khawaja had previously chosen to remain in self imposed exile for safety and security reasons due to the necessity of being abroad for her work and for safety and security reasons. While the same security and safety concerns are still valid, Al-Khawaja found it necessary to conduct this trip for the reasons mentioned above.