Daughter of long-detained activist in Bahrain prepares to travel to island kingdom on Friday

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A daughter of a long-detained human rights activist in Bahrain plans to return to the island kingdom Friday to press for the release of her father, even as she faces imprisonment herself. Maryam al-Khawaja will be accompanied by a phalanx of other activists including the secretary-general of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, seeking to prevent authorities from immediately detaining her. Her trip comes as her father, 62-year-old Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, has resumed a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his yearslong imprisonment on internationally criticized charges stemming from him leading 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations in Bahrain. The island kingdom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.