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.
23 November 2018 – Yesterday, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) held an event in Parliament wherein experts on Bahrain discussed the upcoming election and its impac... Read more
15 November 2018 – Yesterday, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) sent a letter to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on behalf of Bahraini political prisoner... Read more
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) expresses extreme concern for the acts of reprisals committed against Bahraini political prisoners, Ali Hajji and Naji Fateel, who have... Read more
15 November 2018 – On 12 November, Formula One expressed concern for Bahraini female political prisoner, Najah Yusuf, whose conviction involves criticising the Bahraini government and... Read more
9 November 2018 – 20 Parliamentarians expressed their serious concerns over the legitimacy of the upcoming elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s National Assembly i... Read more
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
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
12 September 2018 – Today, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published its 9th annual report by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which details t... 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
