Abdulwahab Hussain

Who is Abdulwahab Hussain?

Abdulwahab Hussain Ali Ahmed Esmael is a Bahraini political activist, writer, religious figure and philosopher. He was one of the most prominent opposition leaders in the 1990s uprising when he was arrested twice for a total length of five years in which he was allegedly subjected to solitary confinement and torture. After his release in 2001, he supported government reform plans.

In 2001, Hussain chaired the committee which founded Al Wefaq, Bahrain's main opposition party. He urged opposition leaders to boycott 2002 parliamentary election after the king issued Constitution of 2002, which he found going back on reform plans. In 2003, Hussain announced he would leave politics and stop issuing public statements and in 2005 he resigned from Al Wefaq. In 2009 He returned to politics becoming the co-founder and official spokesman of Al Wafa' Islamic Movement.

During the Bahraini uprising, Hussain played an important role, leading protests, calling for the downfall of regime and establishment of a democratic republic. One month after the beginning of protests, he was arrested, allegedly tortured and sentenced by a special military court to life imprisonment. Later, sentence was overturned, and it was announced that he would be retried by a civilian court. The retrial began in 22 May 2012, but was postponed until May 29.