NSA Summons Online Activist Who Exposed Torture in Plea to King
* Yusuf Al-Jamri made a plea to King Hamad about the torture he suffered at the hands of the National Security Agency on Thursday 3 August
The freedom of expression, assembly and association continues to be severely restricted in Bahrain, where human rights defenders, opposition activists and religious leaders face arrest and harassment for speaking out against the government. Both the 2002 Press Law and the 2006 Anti-Terrorism Law, exploiting the law’s broad definition of terrorism, are employed to target the media.
In the country’s most famous freedom of expression case, Nabeel Rajab is charged with criticising the government on social media, for publishing a letter in the New York Times, as well as for criticising the government in a televised interview.
Other high-profile cases of free expression and association include opposition acitivst Ebrahim Sharif, who is charged with “incitement to hatred and contempt of the regime”, Sheikh Ali Salman, who is charged for calling for change of the regime, and Zainab al-Khawaja, who is charged for tearing up a picture of the king.
After the government has partially suspended al-Wasat newspaper, Bahrain’s only independent newspaper, a free media in Bahrain is de facto non existent. Prior government harassment against al-Wasat encompassed intimidation and the prosecution of key staff, one of whom, Karim Kakhrawi, died under torture.
* Yusuf Al-Jamri made a plea to King Hamad about the torture he suffered at the hands of the National Security Agency on Thursday 3 August
8 June 2017 – Top press freedom organisations and local Bahraini groups are among fifteen rights groups and campaigners who today raised alarm over the
Today, a coalition of five human rights organizations expressed grave concern over the lack of due process rights and inhumane treatment of Khalil Al-Halwachi, a
31 May 2017 – Bahraini opposition society Wa’ad has been dissolved today and its property confiscated by court order following proceedings filed by the Bahraini Ministry
24 May 2017 – Five were killed yesterday as Bahraini police used tear gas and shotguns to repress a peaceful sit-in around the home of
16 May 2017 – In recent weeks, the Government of Bahrain has substantially escalated its campaign of reprisals against the country’s civil and political societies.
Ahead of the trial of Sheikh Isa Qassim on Sunday 7 May 2017, BIRD and five other NGOs wrote today to the United Kingdom, European
3 May 2017 – Press freedoms continue to diminish in Bahrain. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy marks World Press Freedom Day with a
26 April 2017 – Bahraini authorities have initiated a new campaign of reprisals against political activists, human rights defenders, and other civil society actors ahead
BIRD alongside 15 NGOs today wrote to King Hamad of Bahrain calling for the release of imprisoned photojournalist Sayed Ahmed Al-Musawi and the respect of