Abduljalil Alsingace, Freelance
Medium:Internet
Charge:Anti-state
Imprisoned:March 17, 2011

Alsingace, a journalistic blogger and human rights defender, was among a number of high-profile government critics arrested as the government renewed its crackdown on dissent after pro-reform protests swept the country in February 2011.

In June 2011, a military court sentenced Alsingace to life imprisonment for "plotting to topple the monarchy." In all, 21 bloggers, human rights activists, and members of the political opposition were found guilty on similar charges and handed lengthy sentences.

On his blog, Al-Faseela (Sapling), Alsingace wrote critically about human rights violations, sectarian discrimination, and repression of the political opposition. He also monitored human rights for the Shia-dominated opposition Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy. He was first arrested on anti-state conspiracy charges in August 2010 as part of widespread reprisals against political dissidents, but was released in February 2011 as part of a government effort to appease a then-nascent protest movement.

In September 2012, the High Court of Appeal upheld Alsingace's conviction and life sentence, along with those of his co-defendants. Four months later, on January 7, 2013, the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the country, also upheld the sentences.

In 2015, Alsingace began refusing all solid food to protest the conditions at Jaw Central Prison, where he was being held. In a joint statement on October 7, 2015, the 200th day of his protest, CPJ and other press freedom and human rights organizations called for his release.

In November 2015, Alsingace was temporarily releasedto allow him to attend his mother's funeral. As of late 2015, he remains detained in a clinic where he is receiving treatment in relation to his hunger strike.

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