Ali Abdulemam

Ali Hassan Abdullah Abdulemam, widely known as Ali Abdulemam is a Bahraini liberal blogger and contributor to Global Voices who is the founder of Bahrain Online, a popular online forum and pro-democracy news website, and a member of the research and advocacy group Bahrain Watch. Although he went into hiding in March 2011 to escape the Bahraini Government's crackdown on protesters, he was convicted in absentia for plotting to overthrow the Government, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Global human rights organizations are unconvinced of Abdulemam's guilt and have voiced opposition to the persistent censorship and obstruction of journalists in the region. In 2013, Abdulemam escaped to the UK where he was swiftly granted political asylum.