Trump’s Alignment with Sunni Autocrats Masks Shallow Understanding of Region

President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia has engendered endless press reporting and analysis. Two key points stand out in the media coverage. First, the trip was mostly show than action. Second, the Saudis played up to Trump’s craving for adulation and narcissism. They knew he was a fickle showman and acted accordingly.

حمد بن عيسى: ملك الفتنة والدم!

يُمعن حكام البحرين وملكهم حمد عيسى، بإلحاق الظلم بالشيخ عيسى قاسم، وهو الزعيم الأكبر في البلاد والذي حكمت عليه محكمة في المنامة غيابياً يوم الأحد الماضي، بالسجن مدة سنة مع وقف التنفيذ بعد إدانته “بجمع الأموال بالمخالفة لأحكام القانون… وغسل الأموال”، وبدفع غرامة قدرها مئة ألف دينار بحريني (نحو 265 ألف دولار) و”مصادرة الأموال المتحفظ عليها”.

See the English translation

Bahrain police ‘open fire on sit-in’ around Shia cleric’s home – BBC News

Bahraini police have opened fire during a raid on a sit-in near the home of the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom’s most prominent Shia cleric, activists say. The UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said one protester had been killed in the incident in Sheikh Isa Qassim’s hometown of Diraz.

See also Reuters
“Human Rights Watch condemned the Diraz raid as a crackdown on free expression. It said it was no coincidence it occurred two days after a “convivial” meeting between Trump and King Hamad.”
See also ADHRB statement.
See also Washington Post

UK Protest: at Bahrain Embassy, 15.00 (3.00 pm) today, 30 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8QB

Experimenting in Mapping Online Anti-Shia Sectarianism on Twitter in the Middle East

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see if sectarianism itself was more dominant in one place than an other, at least online? Are some countries/cities more sectarian than others? Is sectarianism a localised phenomenon, despite what we might see in the news? If we knew this, we could then highlight where to prioritize tackling it.

This is the aim of Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump sets off on Friday to create the fantasy of an Arab Nato. There will be dictators aplenty to greet him in Riyadh, corrupt autocrats and thugs and torturers and head choppers. There will be at least one zombie president – the comatose, undead Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria who neither speaks nor, apparently, hears any more – and, of course, one totally insane president, Donald Trump.

Sectarian Materialities

Research Seminar organised by the research group SWAR (Sectarianism in the Wake of the Arab Revolts)

Opinion | Don’t Profit From Abuses by Bahrain

We know we risk much in calling for this. Some of my fellow activists have been tortured, sentenced to life imprisonment, even killed. But I believe that respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms is the way to attain peace, stability and prosperity in any nation; I have devoted my life to that ideal.

UN Committee Against Torture Releases Concluding Report on Bahrain – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

12 May 2012 – The United Nations (UN) Committee Against Torture (CAT) released its concluding observations regarding Bahrain’s second and third periodic reports today as the panel’s 60th session comes to a close in Geneva. This session marked the first time in five years that the CAT has conducted a …

See also ADHRB Newsletter 206.

Bahrain Denies Entry to Human Rights Watch Representative

(Beirut) – Bahraini authorities denied an entry visa this morning to a Human Rights Watch researcher. In recent years, Bahrain has denied entry to scores of human rights advocates and critical journalists, as well as the United Nations special rapporteur on torture and jailed Bahraini rights defenders.

Spotlight on Bahrain’s Human Rights Record: Bahrain Undergoes 3rd Cycle UPR Review – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

Today, the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted Bahrain’s 3rd Cycle Universal Period Review, in which states issued recommendations to the Government of Bahrain to improve its human rights record. Dozens of states gave recommendations that encompassed thematic issue areas ranging from improving religious freedom to halting executions, from strengthening women’s …

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