There had been uncertainty as to whether the Danish-Bahraini activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja would be able to appear in civil court today for new hearings regarding the controversial life sentence handed down on him by a military court last year.

But according to AFP, al-Khawaja has appeared in court in a wheelchair, despite previous statements by his attorney that he was too weak to appear.

A Shia Muslim who is highly critical of the power wielded by the Sunni Muslim royal family in Bahrain, al-Khawaja was arrested last year, charged and found guilty of sedition and sentenced to life in prison.

Al-Khawaja has been on hunger strike for over three months, but says he has been force-fed.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal has so far unsuccessfully attempted to put diplomatic pressure on Bahrain to have the dual nationality al-Khawaja transferred to Denmark.

The European Union, United Nations and the United States have also called on Bahrain to release al-Khawaja.

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