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.
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
21 March 2019 – Yesterday, the Bahraini Embassy in London published a string of tweets including the correspondence between the Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights... Read more
19 March 2019 – Six UN experts have expressed “serious concerns” for three Bahraini human rights defenders who have been routinely targeted by the Bahraini Government for their human r... Read more
8 March 2019 – Three Bahraini women political prisoners wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, earlier this year, to request her intervention in their c... Read more
25 February 2019– Today, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the three-year sentence against family members of human rights defender, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who have now exhausted all l... Read more
20 February 2019 – Today, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Alistair Burt commenced his visit to Manama to engage with high-level Bahrain officials, including the Crown Prince a... Read more
