Thread by @MARYAMALKHAWAJA

Tonight marks 8 years since my father was beaten unconscious in front of my family and taken. 8 years he’s been in prison, severely tortured, for being a human rights defender. For wanting human rights and democracy. For wanting freedom and liberty #Bahrain #DKPol

Sitting on a train in #US, I read tweet after tweet frm my sister, how they took my father, how they beat him, & I mostly felt guilt. Guilt for not being there. Guilt for not protecting my family. As irrational as it is, guilt bcz I thought if I was there they wud take me instead

Today it feels more settled, but it’s the same pain, the same hurt, every day my father, and thousands others, sit in those prison cells, we feel guilt for not having been able to get them out, for being free while they continue to be imprisoned

These are tweets from @angryarabiya, 8 years ago:
THEY JUST CAME! They took my dad, my dads blood is still on the stairs! They hit my dad so much! They beat him and he cudnt breath

@angryarabiya they broke the doors, all wearing masks. They took my father and husband and brother in law. they beat up my other brother in law mohammed almaskati, and then threw him in a room and told him not to come out.

@angryarabiya we knew they were coming, they had gone to my fathers apartment first and taken my cousin who lives in the same building. we all changed and my father told us to stay calm when they come, he told us not to interfere if they take him so they dont hurt us

@angryarabiya we heard door of the building being broken, then the door of the apartment. my father went straight to the door, they started shouting. the one shouting didnt speak arabic, he kept telling my father to get on the floor, my father didn’t get a chance to say anything

@angryarabiya they held my father from his neck & started dragging him down the steps. they lay him on the floor between the steps & started beating him. He was covering his face while more than 5 men were beating him at the same time, I heard him say he cant breath

@angryarabiya I ran after them & told them to stop beating him, I tried to get to my father. they held me & kept shouting at me to shut up. I said “he will go with you, you dont need to beat him” that when I saw my husband & brothers in law being dragged down

@angryarabiya I started shouting “God will show you on Judgement day” I kept shouting “intooon 7a66ab jahanam”. One of them grabbed me form my shirt and started dragging me up the stairs, my mum was begging him to let me go. another was shouting, if she doesnt shutup bring her down too.

@angryarabiya they pushed me, my mum & sisters in a room, n they shouted at us. one of them closed the door and then opened it real quick in my face. then they locked the doors on us, and took the men to the lower apartment, lay them on the ground and started beating them

@angryarabiya they kept referring to my father as “the target” and my husband “the son in law of the target”. my brother in law Mohd Almasqati who they left here saw that my father was unconscious.

@angryarabiya When they unlocked the door, I ran down & saw drops of blood on stairs. My fathers blood, my brave heroic fathers blood. I knelt on the stairs and kissed the spot where I saw them beat him as he said he cudnt breath.

@angryarabiya I am sitting in the mess, the door is broken and we cant close it. My youngest sister is trying to clean and weeping.

It may have been 8 years ago, but it feels like yesterday. Just yesterday I sat there, tears coming down my face, stuck on a train thousands of miles away.

@angryarabiya Finally, I wanted to share what my father said during his last #hungerstrike:
"Think of it this way" dad told mum as she cried "we are free despite our chains.. they r the prisoners despite their freedom”
#Bahrain