Activists arrested in Bahrain

Authorities in Bahrain have detained and beaten a prominent activist amid a continued crackdown on the opposition in the tiny Gulf nation, according to a human rights group.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, formerly of Amnesty International, was detained today in the early hours of the morning at his daughter’s house in a Shiite village outside the capital, Manama.

Al-Khawaja’s daughter, Zainab, confirmed the arrest. She said that police beat her father unconscious before taking him into custody along with her husband and her brother-in-law.

Bahrain declared emergency rule last month and cracked down on protests by the country’s Shiite majority against a Sunni monarchy, detaining hundreds of activists and anti-government protesters.