| Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei | |
| Birth Place: | Bahrain |
| Occupation: | Human rights activist |
| Years Active: | 2011 - present |
| Known For: | Director of Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy |
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei is director of advocacy at the UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).[1] Alwadaei fled Bahrain and the regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in approximately 2012, establishing refugee status in the UK. In 2015, the Bahrain government stripped him of his nationality rendering him and his UK-born daughter stateless.[2]
In 2017, a Bahraini court sentenced three of Alwadaei's relatives to three years in prison on terrorism charges.[3] Also in 2017, Alwadaei's daughter was born in the UK, but was unable to claim a Bahraini or British passport, with Alwadaei writing for The Guardian that, "She has never owned a passport and cannot leave the country. Her only official form of identification remains her birth certificate."[4]
In December 2022, Alwadaei was filmed protesting against British Member of Parliament Bob Stewart as the Conservative Party MP made his way to a reception hosted by the Bahraini embassy in London. Alwadaei challenged Stewart about a previous visit to Bahrain made by the MP and allegedly paid for by the Bahraini government, asking him: "Did you sell yourself to the Bahraini regime?" Stewart responded that Bahrain was "a great place", adding "Go back to Bahrain" and "You're taking money off my country, go away." Stewart later apologised for his remarks, but said he was "taunted" and had not taken money from Bahrain. Alwadaei submitted a letter of complaint to the Conservative Party, alleging that Stewart had brought the party into disrepute and victimised him because of his race or nationality.[5] Following a Metropolitan Police investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the police to charge Stewart with two offences under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, including racially aggravated abuse "and in the alternative, a non-aggravated section 5 offence under the same Act."[6] He retained the Conservative whip following the charges.[7]
On 3 November 2023, Stewart was found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence, fined £600, and ordered to pay costs.[8] He announced his intention to appeal against the conviction.[9]
Stewart's conviction was overturned in Southwark Crown Court on 23 February 2024.[10]