Despite pressure from the UN and the international community, the death penalty continues to be part of the Bahraini legal system.
In January 2017, capital punishment resumed within the Kingdom, with three torture victims, Abbas AlSameea, Sami Mushaima and Ali Alsingace, executed six days after the Court of Cassation upheld their death sentence. Crimes that warrant the death penalty include treason, terrorism, apostasy and drug trafficking. The absence of a precise definition of terrorism has allowed the Bahraini government to exploit its legal system so as to criminalise acts of opposition, free expression and assembly. The death penalty is conducted via firing squads.
As of 2021, there are at least 26 on death row, 12 of which have been sentenced in political cases. 11 of the 12 allege being tortured in order to extract a confession that was then used against them at their trial.
All 26 on death row are at imminent risk of execution, having exhausted all domestic remedies. The final step in their case before implementation of the death sentence is the ratification of the sentence by the King.
Not only does the death penalty itself stand in conflict with the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, but those sentenced to death regularly report instances of undue process, torture and violations of human rights.
26 June 2020 – On 26th June, the United Nations will observe International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, raising awareness about the continued scourge
15 June 2020 – This morning, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court, upheld the death sentence against Zuhair Ibrahim Jasim Abdullah, a
3 June 2020 – On Monday, the trial of Bahraini refugee and photojournalist Moosa Mohammed on charges of aggravated trespass on a diplomatic premises was
20 February 2020 – Today, The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) launched its 2020 Annual Report to mark the ninth anniversary of the Bahraini
13 February 2020- Yesterday, Lord Paul Scriven and Peers criticised the inefficacy and lack of transparency surrounding the UK government’s technical assistance program to Bahrain
8 January 2020 – Bahrain’s High Criminal Court of Appeals has upheld the death sentences of Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa. Both men were convicted
7 January 2020 – Today, Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley MP and Liberal Democrat Peer, Lord Scriven, wrote to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab,
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
17 October 2019 – At least 26 Bahraini prisoners have joined a hunger strike to protest against the obstruction of family visits at Bahrain’s Jau Prison.
07 August 2019 – New evidence obtained by BIRD has emerged implicating Bahraini Embassy staff in the assault of a protester who had scaled the
