Categories : News

Profiles in Persecution: Abbas Ismaeel Ghuloom – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

Abbas Ismaeel Ghuloom was a professional football player in Bahrain, having played for the Manama Club and the national team between the years 2000 and 20O2. He graduated from Ahlia University and worked as an accountant in the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait for seven years. In March 2011, he …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter 341, click here.

The Coronavirus Is Exacerbating Sectarian Tensions in the Middle East

The novel coronavirus is advancing across the Middle East, straining frail public health services and exacerbating preexisting political and sectarian tensions, both within states and between regional rivals.

Bahrain: Death Sentences Despite Torture Claims

(Beirut) – Bahrain’s authorities should overturn the death sentences following unfair trials against two men who say they were tortured, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said today. The Court of Cassation, Bahrain’s court of last resort, will issue the final verdict in the coming weeks.

See also ADHRB Weekly 338 here.

Afghan CEO Abdullah escapes Kabul shooting attack (Ld)

Afghan CEO Abdullah escapes Kabul shooting attack (Ld) Kabul, March 6 (IANS) Afghanistan”s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Friday escaped a shooting that took place shortly after he spoke at a public event here, a government official said, adding 18 people were injured in the attack.

See also BBC News.

UAE stealing Yemen’s Socotra manuscripts and artefacts, reports

Local sources on the Yemeni island of Socotra have expressed concerns over reports that the UAE delegate Khalfan Al-Mazrouei had facilitated the theft of antiquities and ancient manuscripts. The sources told Socotra Post that an Emirati antiquities team accompanied by Al-Mazrouei visited the oldest mosque in Hadibu, the capital of Socotra known for its historic dome, in addition to other archaeological sites.

Bahrain: Release of Hajer Mansoor long overdue others must now follow

Responding to today’s release of Hajer Mansoor, a prisoner of conscience who served a three-year prison sentence after a grossly unfair trial in Bahrain, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: Hajer Mansoor’s release is long overdue, but she should never have spent a single day in detention in the first place Lynn Maalouf “Hajer was imprisoned for three years on absurd ‘terrorism’ charges, solely because of her family relationship with Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, a human rights activist who now lives in the United Kingdom.

See also BIRD Weekly 263 here.

Nine Years After Bahrain’s Uprising, Its Human Rights Crisis Has Only Worsened

It’s been nine years since Bahrain’s February 2011 uprising. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities and towns across the country to protest the ruling Al Khalifa family’s tight grip on power, discrimination against the country’s majority Shia population, and arrests of political critics.

For the US Congressional Research Service report ‘Bahrain: Unrest, Security, and U.S. Policy’, updated Feb 20, 2020, click here.

Ma’rifa: A Shi’a Youth Conference

Shi`a students today find themselves dealing with a myriad of challenges. Between the struggles of navigating faith in America, creating spaces to cultivate spirituality, balancing several identities, as well as being a minority within the Muslim community, students need a meaningful forum to engage these issues.

Human Rights “Continued to Deteriorate” in Bahrain in 2019, Finds BIRD Annual Report

20 February 2020 – Today, The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) launched its 2020 Annual Report to mark the ninth anniversary of the Bahraini Uprising. BIRD’s inaugural annual report gives a comprehensive oversight of the human rights developments in Bahrain during 2019, concluding that the human rights situation has “continued to deteriorate”.

For BIRD Weekly 262, click here.