Instances of torture continue to be reported in Bahrain, irrespective of the government’s proclaimed efforts to increase institutional accountability and transparency. Newly established institutions such as the Office of the Ombudsman frequently fail to investigate these allegations. Particularly those charged with anti-government activities have been vulnerable to ill-treatment from police officers. The Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry (BICI) describes in its 2011 report a “culture of complete impunity” that lacks both accountability and transparency.
Especially in Dry Dock and in Jau Prison, inmates report instances of abuse, ill-treatment and torture with dramatic frequency.
18 October 2018 – Today, 9 NGOs including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Experts, urging them to publi... Read more
15 October 2018 - The Fourth High Criminal Court handed prison sentences to seven Bahraini nationals and revoked the citizenship of six over terrorism charges related to the bombing of an oi... Read more
Female Detainees’ Response to the Statement Issued by the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR)
4 October 2018 – Yesterday, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) received a phone call from Isa Town Prison. In this phone call, inmates Hajer Mansoor, Medina Ali and Najah... Read more
3 October - Yesterday afternoon at 16:00, Bahraini activist Ali Mushaima ended his protest outside the Bahrain embassy in Knightsbridge, London. For the first 44 days of his protest Ali was... Read more
2 October 2018 – Yesterday, the Bahrain National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) issued a statement denying the allegations of mistreatment reported by three women in Bahrain’s Isa Town... Read more
19 September 2018 – On 16 September, female political prisoner Hajer Mansoor Hassan, mother-in-law of UK-based activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, was subjected to assault and retaliation,... Read more
10 September 2018 – Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior Ombudsman’s Office – the chief oversight mechanism for the police and prison system – released its findings on 7 Se... Read more
4 September 2018 – Today, prominent activist Zainab Alkhawaja joined Ali Mushaima on the 35th day of his hunger strike outside the Bahraini Embassy in London. Ali is demanding basic hu... Read more
Ali Mushaima was hospitalised on the 30th day of his hunger strike outside the Bahrain Embassy in London to protest the ongoing mistreatment of his father, political prisoner Hassan Mushaima... Read more
Paris-Geneva-Manama, 29 August 2018 – For the second time since 2013, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has issued an Opinion regarding the legality of the... Read more
