Life sentence for Bahrain opposition leader

Sheikh Ali Salman was accused of spying for Qatar after Bahrain cut ties with the rival state.

See also Amnesty International.
See also ADHRB.
See also NY Times.
See also BIRD Number 212.

Reforming the Faith: Indonesia’s battle for the soul of Islam

Nahdlatul Ulama, with 94 million members the world’s largest Sunni Muslim movement, is bent on reforming Islam. In a 40-page document, argued in terms of Islamic law and jurisprudence and scheduled for publication in the coming days, Nahdlatul Ulama’s powerful young adults wing, Gerakan Pemuda Ansor, spells out a framework for what it sees as a humanitarian interpretation of Islam that is tolerant and pluralistic in nature.

ADHRB and NGOs Send Letter to UN High Commissioner on Conditions in Bahrain’s Isa Town Prison for Women

18 October 2018 – Today, Americans for Human Rights & Democracy in Bahrain (ADHRB) in cooperation with the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), CIVICUS, European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR), Front Line Defenders, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Index on Censorship, and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) sent a letter to Michele Bachelet, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, and UN experts calling on them to condemn the appalling conditions faced by female human rights defenders in Bahrain’s Isa Town Prison for Women.

Click here for ADHRB Newsletter 273, including story on Ahmed Abdulla AlAjaimi.

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.

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.

Incidents of Anti-Shiism in August, 2018 – Shia Rights Watch

The month of August stood witness to 286 cases of anti-Shiism, or violence against Shia Muslims. In this month, Shia Rights Watch published its annual Hajj advisory in the protection of religious minorities under threat in the Islamic Hajj ritual. The advisory can be found on ShiaRightsWatch.org.

When will this Opression end? Jannat Al Baqee walls have been Blocked!!

AGAIN, Jannatul Baqee has been violated! The Saudi Regime has blocked off the view to the graves of The Most Holy Personalities. This is a direct insult to all Zawwar of the World. Until now, the regime has been systematically erasing the places of historical importance and grave sites of Personalities that have given us Islam.

Shia Rights Watch is extremely concerned as Israa al-Ghamgham, a detainee and a female Shia rights activist is sentenced to the death penalty for her involvement in peaceful demonstrations in Qatif.
Read More at SRW site.
See also Human Rights Watch.
See also BBC News.
See also The New York Times.
See also ADHRB.
See also Newsweek.

Prominent Saudi Women Activists Arrested

(Beirut) – Saudi authorities have arrested the internationally recognized women’s rights activist Samar Badawi and an Eastern Province activist, Nassima al-Sadah, in the past two days, Human Rights Watch said today. Badawi and al-Sadah are the latest victims of an unprecedented government crackdown on the women’s rights movement that began on May 15, 2018 and has resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen activists.

See also US News and World Report