Despite pressure from the UN and the international community, the death penalty continues to be part of the Bahraini legal system.
In January 2017, capital punishment resumed within the Kingdom, with three torture victims, Abbas AlSameea, Sami Mushaima and Ali Alsingace, executed six days after the Court of Cassation upheld their death sentence. Crimes that warrant the death penalty include treason, terrorism, apostasy and drug trafficking. The absence of a precise definition of terrorism has allowed the Bahraini government to exploit its legal system so as to criminalise acts of opposition, free expression and assembly. The death penalty is conducted via firing squads.
As of December 2018, there are currently 20 Bahraini nationals on death row, all sentenced in political cases. Most of the inmates relate they have been tortured in order to extract a confession that was then used against them at their trial.
Of the 20 death-row inmates, 5 individuals are at imminent risk of execution, having exhausted all domestic remedies. The final step in their case before implementation of the death sentence is ratification of the sentence by the King.
Not only does the death penalty itself stand in conflict with the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, but those sentenced to death regularly report instances of undue process, torture and violations of personal and human rights.
8 March 2017 – In his report to the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, raised the “increasing levels of huma... Read more
16 February 2017 – The European Parliament has voted through a Resolution on Executions in Kuwait and Bahrain condemning the recent executions in these countries. We, the undersigned,... Read more
20 January 2017 – We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the position of the Bahrain National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) which, in a statement released earlier this week, supported t... Read more
15 January 2017 – Bahrain today executed three torture victims following authorisation by King Hamad. Sami Mushaima (42), Ali Al-Singace (21) and Abbas Al-Samea (27) were executed this... Read more
9 January 2017 – The Court of Cassation in Bahrain today upheld the death sentence against three defendants, life imprisonment against seven other defendants, and revocation of citizen... Read more
The undersigned NGOs call on the government of Bahrain to immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation into the death of 35-year-old detainee Hassan Jassim Hasan Al-Hayki am... Read more
16 December 2015 – NGOs today issued a joint-statement against the use of the death penalty in Bahrain and called on the Gulf kingdom to commute all standing sentences. The 17 N... Read more
31 October 2015 – Construction began today on Britain’s new Royal Navy base in Bahrain, despite ongoing controversies. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Foreign Minister Sheik... Read more
Champions for Justice: Bahrain’s Death Row Prisoners In Bahrain, political dissidence can be punishable by death. The Government of Bahrain employ the threat of capital punishment as a means... Read more
