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.
19 June 2019 – Yesterday, sixteen cross-party MPs and Peers, including Caroline Lucas, Layla Moran, Diana Johnson and Sir Peter Bottomley delivered a letter to the British Foreign Secr... Read more
12 June 2019 – Political prisoner Ali Al-Hajee issued a statement last week from Jau Prison describing the grave deterioration of prison conditions and the inhumane treatment he has be... Read more
7 June 2019 – The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) diminished the human rights deterioration in Bahrain in its 2018 report on human rights and democracy priorities, labelling it a... Read more
1 May 2019 – Yesterday, President Macron of France received King Hamad of Bahrain at the Palace Elysee in Paris. Following the meeting, palace staff released an official press release... Read more
30 April 2019 – The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) wrote to President Macron urging him to address human rights concerns during tomorrow’s meeting with the King of B... Read more
12 April 2019 – Today, the Guardian published an open letter in support of BIRD’s Director, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei. Find below the full letter: We write to express our deep concern... Read more
The health of two prominent Bahraini political prisoners has deteriorated as prison officials continue to deny them access to appropriate medical care. 71-year-old political opposition leade... Read more
2 April 2019 – The Bahraini Embassy in London replied to the media publicity on the case of female political Najah Yusuf, by issuing a statement on Twitter including fabricated eviden... Read more
27 March 2019 – Today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) hosted a conference calling on Formula 1 and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to visit Bahraini political prisoner Na... Read more
London, 27 March 2019— Ahead of the 2019 Grand Prix on Sunday, leading global NGOs and trade unions including members of the Sport and Rights Alliance sent a joint letter to the President of... Read more
