Human rights defenders, opposition activists and Shia religious leaders continue to face substantial legal harassment in the execution of their freedom of expression and association. In addition to legal harassment, which has been reported to encompass unlawful detention, torture and ill-treatment, activists may face personal threats directed at them and their families. As of March 2017, this practice was most recently outlined in the arbitrary detention of the family of exiled activist Sayed al-Wadaei.
Irrespective of condemnations from the The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bahrain’s severe repression of human rights defenders has increased in recent years, displaying a troublesome deterioration of human rights.
17 December 2019 – On Sunday, Bahrain’s king marked the country’s National Day by issuing a decree pardoning 269 prisoners. In a separate statement, the government announced that a fur... Read more
22 November 2019- Yesterday, 52 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) delivered a joint-letter condemning the denial of medical treatment to prominent political prisoners in Bahrain to M... Read more
8 November 2019 – Women activists and human rights defenders in Bahrain have been subjected to “serious crimes” including physical and sexual assault while the UK’s policies “enable h... Read more
18 October – Yesterday, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR) co-hosted an event at Parliament to highlight... Read more
9 October 2019 – Liberal Democrat Peer, Lord Scriven has accused Formula One of complicity in the “prolonged and arbitrary detention” of Bahraini activist Najah Yusuf, who was jailed a... Read more
8 October 2019 – Bahrain’s authorities are failing to provide adequate medical care to high-profile prisoners, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institution for Rights and Democracy (... Read more
24 September 2019 – The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has found the detention of recently-released Bahraini activist Najah Yusuf, who was arrested in April 2017... Read more
17 September 2019 – Bahrain’s High Appeals Court refused to grant a non-custodial sentence to the country’s most prominent human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, who is currently serving... Read more
16 September 2019 – Political Prisoner Ali Al-Hajee issued a statement last week from Jau Prison exposing the inhumane conditions that he has faced for the past six years and continue... Read more
12 September 2019 – Yesterday, during the 42nd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and Americans fo... Read more
