Categories : News

Bahraini Top Shia Cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim in London to Receive Urgent Medical Care

9 July 2018 – Today, Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, arrived in London to receive medical treatment. He landed at 3:31pm at Heathrow Airport from Bahrain International Airport on Gulf Air flight GF003. It appears that Sheikh Isa Qassim has been suffering from an “undisclosed illness” and recently fell and hurt himself….

Incidents of Anti-Shiism in June 2018 – Shia Rights Watch

Anti-Shiism is extended to June, and compared to May, the number of people killed and wounded has almost tripled. With 206 cases of anti-Shiism, Shia Muslims continue to be under attack in countries like Bahrain, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Shia Muslims have faced inhuman outcomes of discrimination with sentencing, arrests, anti-Shia speech, …

The assault on Pakistan media ahead of vote

Imagine waking up in New York without the New York Times, newspaper kiosks shut down and hawkers off the streets. That is what many Pakistanis have been feeling for months as Dawn – Pakistan’s largest English-language newspaper – has disappeared from their breakfast tables.

Shooting oneself in one’s own foot: Pakistan’s failed effort to evade terrorism finance listing

The Pakistani government’s removal of a virulently anti-Shiite militant from its terrorism list at the very moment that an international money laundering and terrorism finance watchdog was deciding to put the country on a watchlist highlights Pakistan’s struggle to come to grips with militancy.

Israel adopts abandoned Saudi sectarian logic

Amid ever closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Israel’s military appears to be adopting the kind of sectarian anti-Shiite rhetoric that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is abandoning as part of a bid to develop a national rather than a religious ethos and promote his yet to be defined form of moderate Islam.

Saudi effort to isolate Iran internationally produces results

Saudi efforts to isolate Iran internationally are producing results in North Africa and Central Asia. Authorities and religious leaders in Tajikistan and Algeria have in recent weeks accused Iran of subversive activity and propagating Shiism while Morocco last month announced that it was breaking off diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

Bahrain: Exonerate, Free Nabeel Rajab

The Bahraini government should drop its charges against a prominent Bahraini human rights defender for peacefully expressing his views and order his immediate release, Human Rights Watch said today. The Manama Appeals Court is scheduled to issue its final ruling on June 5, 2018 on an appeal by the rights defender, Nabeel Rajab.

Bahrain Moves to Ban Opposition Ahead of 2018 Elections

30 May 2018 – The National Assembly, Bahrain’s parliament, has advanced new legislation that will virtually ban members of the political opposition from seeking election. Both houses of the National Assembly have approved the measure, and the king may confirm it at any time.

For ABHRB Newsletter 253, click here.

Mahathir’s reforms could put Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the spot

Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mahathir is adopting policies that could reshape the Southeast nation’s relations with powerful Gulf states. A series of anti-corruption measures as well as statements by Mr. Mahathir and his defense minister, Mohamad (Mat) Sabu, since this month’s upset in elections that ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak from office, are sparking concern in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The story of Pakistan’s ‘disappeared’ Shias

CCTV images from a local mosque show 30-year-old Naeem Haider being led away in handcuffs by more than a dozen armed men. Some have their faces covered with masks, others are in police uniform. It was the night of 16 November 2016. Mr Haider has not been seen since.