Ali Abdulemam is a renowned Bahraini blogger and former prisoner of conscience. In 1999, Abdulemam created the pro-democracy news website Bahrain Online, the nation’s first free online forum for political and social debate. He played a key role in the Arab Spring protests of 2011. Abdulemam was detained numerous times by Bahraini authorities for his work, and was imprisoned in 2010, for”spreading false information” and defaming the monarchy. Threatened By a regime manhunt, Abdulemam was forced into hiding on March 15, 2011. InJune 2011, the Bahraini government sentenced Abdulemam in absentia to 15 years in prison for “plotting a coup.” On May 10, 2013, it was announced that Abdulemam had escaped to the U.K., where he was granted political asylum. Abdulemam has been profiled in media outlets such as The Atlantic and The Guardian. He was awarded the 2013 Freedom Prize from the Danish think tank CEPOS.