Categories : News

ADHRB, BIRD and ECDHR Condemn the NIHR’s Whitewashing of Human Rights Abuses in Bahraini Prisons

2 October 2018 – Yesterday, the Bahrain National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) issued a statement denying the allegations of mistreatment reported by three women in Bahrain’s Isa Town Women’s Prison. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), and the European Centre for Democracy and…

To access BIRD Weekly Issue 207, click here.

‘Die If Necessary’; Targeted Afghan Minority Prepares to Fight

Shiite Syria-war veterans are ready to answer the call of community leaders to protect the Kabul neighborhood that is home to Afghanistan’s largest concentration of the minority sect.

Bahrain Harasses Shia Clerics Ahead of Ashura Amid Wider Attack on Religious Freedom

In the lead-up to this year’s Ashura – a prominent holy day for Muslims and particularly the Shia Muslim community – Bahraini authorities have continued to interfere in the peaceful commemoration of the event. Although the majority of Bahrain’s citizen population is Shia, the community faces institutionalized discrimination, and the Sunni ruling family routinely suppresses their right to free belief.

Click here for ADHRB Newsletter 270.

Nearly 170 charged with forming ‘Bahrain Hizballah’

Analysts have expressed scepticism about previous Bahraini allegations of Iranian and Hizballah involvement. Bahrain’s attorney general charged nearly 170 people on Tuesday with forming a Shia “terrorist organisation” named for Lebanon’s famed militant group Hizballah.

Saudi Arabia’s “Reforms” Don’t Include Tolerance of Shia Community

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has recently made moves likely to appeal to the country’s Shia minority. This includes neutering the country’s once-powerful religious establishment, which has spewed anti-Shia vitriol and demonized Shia religious practices for decades, as well as changes to the 2018-19 Saudi school curriculum to remove some anti-Shia images and rhetoric.

BAHRAIN: Further Retaliation Against Female Political Prisoner Following UN Secretary General’s Report

19 September 2018 – On 16 September, female political prisoner Hajer Mansoor Hassan, mother-in-law of UK-based activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, was subjected to assault and retaliation, which required hospitalisation, by the head of Isa Town Prison Centre. This followed the publication of a major report by the UN Secretary-General that details the reprisals targeting family…

Read BIRD Weekly 205.

UN Secretary-General’s Report Addresses Pattern of Reprisals in Bahrain

12 September 2018 – Today, the United Nations (UN) published the ninth annual report of the Secretary-General on cooperation with the UN, its representatives, and mechanisms in the field of human rights. The report presents the work of Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour, who addresses intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the UN.

See also ADHRB Newsletter 269.

Bahraini Narratives About the United States

The eruption of Bahrain’s political crisis seven-and-a-half years ago marked a watershed in Manama-Washington relations. It also transformed how both Bahrain’s regime and its Shia-dominated opposition viewed the United States. For decades, Bahrain’s leadership has seen the United States as the archipelago kingdom’s offshore security guarantor and a bastion against political ambitions from regional powers.

Movie Theaters and Women Driving Won’t Placate Saudi Shiites

After generating some positive press earlier this summer by lifting the ban on women driving, Saudi Arabia is once more the target of reproach. In August, the country’s notorious terrorism court sought the death penalty against Israa al-Ghomgham, a female activist.

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan in trouble

Saudi Vision 2030, the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil income, is coming undone. The king has stripped away the central pillar of the project. The country is becoming more autocratic and repressive. The slide toward greater repression is prompting capital flight.