UNITED NATIONS, April 13: The United Nations urged authorities in Bahrain on Friday to immediately release a human rights defender serving a life sentence handed down by a military court on alleged terrorism-related charges.

Four independent human rights experts decried that Bahrain’s National Safety Court, a military court, sentenced Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja to life imprisonment on June 22 last year, after he was put on trial along with more than 20 other human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteurs said in a press statement.

The court rejected an appeal in September last year, and Mr Al-Khawaja’s case is being reviewed by the Court of Cassation, which is due to deliver its verdict on April 23. Mr Al-Khawaja has been on a hunger strike since February 8 and despite assurances from Bahraini authorities, reports and photos documenting his poor state of health continue to emerge.

“I am seriously concerned that Mr Al-Khawaja’s trial and sentence are linked to his legitimate work to promote human rights in Bahrain,” said the Special Rapporteur on human rights, Margaret Sekaggya. “This case is sadly emblematic of the overall treatment of human rights defenders in Bahrain.”