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.

8 UN Experts Condemn Bahrain’s Treatment of Political Prisoners – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

17 February 2020 – 8 UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed “grave concern” about the mistreatment of political prisoners Hajer Mansoor, Medina Ali and Nabeel Rajab in Bahraini detention centres, “which may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” In a letter to the Bahraini government, the experts …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter 335, click here.

Pushing for Protection: Advocating for the Shia – Shia Rights Watch

Annual Report 2019 In this report, Shia Rights Watch quantifies violence against Shia Muslims and presents the dynamics of anti-Shiism in various nations of the world. This report reflects year-round investigations arranged by native activists and international researchers on actions taken to endanger populations based on their Shia identity.

Former Political Prisoner Sayed Kadhem Dies at 24 Following Medical Neglect by Prison Authorities – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

3 February 2020 – Today, hundreds of Bahrainis took to the streets to mourn Sayed Kadhem Abbas, a 24 year old former political prisoner who tragically died from terminal cancer following egregious medical negligence during his detention in Jau Prison between 2015 and 2018, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and …

For ADHRB Weekly 333, click here.
See also BIRD Weekly 260 here.

BIRD Weekly #258: Three Year Anniversary of the Executions of Three Bahraini Torture Victims

15 January 2020 – Today marks the three year anniversary of the executions of torture victims, Sami Mushaima, Abbas AlSamea and Ali AlSingace, an event which initiated theresumption of the use of the death penalty in Bahrain following a 7 year de-facto moratorium.