NGOs call for the release of Zainab Al-Khawaja
14 March 2016 – Bahraini security forces today raided the house of human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja and arrested her with her 15 months old
The freedom of expression, assembly and association continues to be severely restricted in Bahrain, where human rights defenders, opposition activists and religious leaders face arrest and harassment for speaking out against the government. Both the 2002 Press Law and the 2006 Anti-Terrorism Law, exploiting the law’s broad definition of terrorism, are employed to target the media.
In the country’s most famous freedom of expression case, Nabeel Rajab is charged with criticising the government on social media, for publishing a letter in the New York Times, as well as for criticising the government in a televised interview.
Other high-profile cases of free expression and association include opposition acitivst Ebrahim Sharif, who is charged with “incitement to hatred and contempt of the regime”, Sheikh Ali Salman, who is charged for calling for change of the regime, and Zainab al-Khawaja, who is charged for tearing up a picture of the king.
After the government has partially suspended al-Wasat newspaper, Bahrain’s only independent newspaper, a free media in Bahrain is de facto non existent. Prior government harassment against al-Wasat encompassed intimidation and the prosecution of key staff, one of whom, Karim Kakhrawi, died under torture.
14 March 2016 – Bahraini security forces today raided the house of human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja and arrested her with her 15 months old
2 March 2016 – Geneva, Switzerland – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Bahrain
24 February 2016 – Bahrain’s fourth criminal court today sentenced leading opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif to one year in prison for allegedly “inciting hatred against
22 February 2016 – The Bahraini authorities deported Sheikh Mohammed Hasan Ali Husain (Khojasta) following the court of appeal’s decision. Sheikh Khojasta is one of
16 February 2016 – Sunday, 14 February 2016, marked the fifth anniversary of Bahrain’s peaceful uprising. Bahraini people took to the streets protesting injustice and
On 3 February 2016, a Bahraini court upheld photographer Ahmed al-Fardan’s three-month prison sentence on charges of “attempting” to protest. We condemn the Bahraini authorities’
London – On Monday, 25 January 2016, Bahrain’s public prosecutor announced that a court had sentenced 57 men to additional 15-year jail terms for their
(Read as PDF) (اضغط الرابط لقرائة النص باللغة العربية) 21 January 2016 Your Majesty, We, the undersigned NGOs, call on the Bahraini authorities to lift
We, the undersigned civil society groups working to promote and defend freedom of expression worldwide, write to you to condemn the ongoing harassment of human
On Monday, Bahraini security forces arbitrarily arrested journalist Mahmood al-Jazeeri, increasing the number of journalists, photographers, bloggers and internet activists under arrest in Bahrain to