8 UN Experts Condemn Bahrain’s Treatment of Political Prisoners
17 February 2020 – 8 UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed “grave concern” about the mistreatment of political prisoners Hajer Mansoor, Medina Ali and Nabeel Rajab
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.
17 February 2020 – 8 UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed “grave concern” about the mistreatment of political prisoners Hajer Mansoor, Medina Ali and Nabeel Rajab
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
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21 January 2020 – 125 prisoners detained at building 17 of Bahrain’s Dry Dock Detention Centre will be launching a hunger strike to protest the
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22 November 2019- Yesterday, 52 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) delivered a joint-letter condemning the denial of medical treatment to prominent political prisoners in
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14 November 2019 – Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem Al Araibi delivered a letter on 12 November on behalf of imprisoned Bahraini jiu jitsu and mixed martial