Bahrain Mirror: Human rights activist Yousif Al-Muhafda spoke with the Norwegian Dagbladet newspaper, which documented the corruption case about giving an international prize to former Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa in return of money.

The scandal involved a Norwegian organization and well-known political figures there, including a former Prime Minister.

Al-Muhafda expressed his anger and disgust at what the (August 14) Organization run by a Norwegian right-wing politician, did, and considered that the granting an award is like "whitewashing the regime's reputation".

"What they do destroys our work for human rights," he says to Dagbladet, stressing that the Bahraini government is paying large amounts of money to whitewash the regime's reputation, especially after 2011and the Arab Spring, when thousands of people were arrested, hundreds tortured, and many were killed under torture in custody.

"The regime uses the prize for marketing, they use such awards politically to strengthen their stance."

The newspaper reported that Al-Muhafda was arrested in Bahrain and that he asserted he "had to flee to Germany for safety".

Dagbladet said that Al-Muhafda is a member of Bahrain Center for Human Rights and that he came to Norway in 2013 to receive the Rafto Prize which the center won.

Arabic Version