NGOs condemn Bahrain NIHR Statement on Executions

20 January 2017 – We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the position of the Bahrain National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) which, in a statement released earlier this week, supported the extrajudicial executions of torture victims Ali Al-Singace (21), Abbas Al-Samea (27) and Sami Mushaima (42). Ali, Abbas and Sami were executed on Sunday 15 January[…]

Bahrain Executes Stateless Torture Victims Following King Hamad’s Authorization

15 January 2017 – Bahrain today executed three torture victims following authorization by King Hamad. Sami Mushaima (42), Ali Al-Singace (21) and Abbas Al-Samea (27) were executed this morning by firing squad, the first people executed in Bahrain since July 2010, and the first Bahrainis executed since March 1996. The execution came less than a[…]

Three torture victims facing imminent threat of execution at any time

14 January 2017 – The Government of Bahrain today has taken concerning action regarding the three torture victims on death row – Sami Mushaima, Abbas al-Samea, and Ali Abdulshaheed al-Singace. Reports indicate that Bahraini authorities have called a surprise mandatory visit for the families to meet with the three detainees. According to some reports from[…]

US dual citizen serving two-year prison sentence in Bahrain

**Update: A Bahraini court of appeals upheld the two-year sentence against Abdulla Jaffar on 23 January 2017, exhausting his appeals process. ____________ 13 January 2016 – The Government of Bahrain has taken 19-year-old Virginia-born Bahraini-American citizen Abdulla Jaffar into custody. This arrest is meant to begin an arbitrary prison sentence passed against Jaffar almost two[…]

Bahrain’s Recent Attacks on Press Freedom

Update: After this post was published, Bahrain’s Ministry of Information Affairs has partially suspended on 16 January 2017 Alwasat, the country’s only independent newspaper. See here for more details.  On 16 January 2017, Bahrain’s prosecution will try the case of journalist Nazeeha Saeed, whom the Public Prosecution Office charged with working for international media without a[…]