CAIRO: Bahrain has decided on Tuesday to remand in custody the daughter of a jailed hunger striker for protesting during last week's Formula One Grand Prix, her lawyer stated. “They decided yesterday to hold her for seven days for holding up traffic and insulting a public official. She refused to talk in the investigations or to sign papers,” said lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi in a press conference in Manama, capital of Bahrain. Zainab al-Khawaja was arrested on Saturday during days of Shi'ite protests held to embarrass the kingdom's rulers at a time when the formula race drew international media attention. Rights groups have called for the release of her father Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and 13 other protest leaders in jail for their role in the pro-democracy uprising that erupted in February 2011. Amnesty International has charged the authorities in Bahrain of playing with Khawaja's life. The government says he is in good health in a military hospital. Bahrain has been in turmoil since the protests began last year. Though martial law and Saudi troops were brought in to crush them after one month, the strife has continued with regular mass marches by opposition parties and violent clashes with riot police, but no enough media coverage was given for these protests.
