From 14 Countries and 22 Capitals and Cities: Voices Demand the Release of Bahraini Political Prisoners

With the hashtag #ReleasePoliticalPrisoners, students and activists all over Europe expressed their concern and demanded the immediate release of political prisoners in Bahrain. On March 17, 2020, Bahrain completed the release of 1,486 prisoners, 901 of whom received royal pardons on “humanitarian grounds.” The remaining 585 were given non-custodial sentences.

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #346, click here.

Profile in Persecution: Fadhel Abbas Sahwan – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

Fadhel Abbas Sahwan was a football player on the first team of the Galali Bahraini Club. Following high school, he worked as a driver at the National Motor Company. On 5 March 2017 he was violently arrested at his grandmother’s house in Sanabis. He was tortured and subjected to an …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #344, click here.

BIRD Director Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei wins Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award

17 April 2020 – Yesterday, BIRD Director of Advocacy Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei was awarded an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for his tireless campaigning for human rights in Bahrain. The prestigious award comprises a year-long fellowship with Index to help winners “maximise their impact, broaden their support and ensure they continue to excel…

For BIRD Weekly 267, click here.

Profiles in Persecution: Abdulla Habib Swar – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

Abdulla was a student and a football player for Al-Shabab Club when he was arrested in 2019, after authorities pursued him for six years for his participation in the peaceful protest and religious events demanding democracy in 2013. Since his arrest, Abdulla has been tortured and convicted in unfair trials; …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter 343, click here.

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.

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.

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.