Bahrain: Entry refusal to journalist and HRW researcher part of a larger pattern

17 May 2017 – Bahraini authorities last week denied entry visas to German journalist Robert Kempe and American Human Rights Watch researcher Omar Shakir, both of whom were seeking to visit Bahrain in connection with the FIFA Congress being held in Manama on 10 and 11 May. In both cases, the Bahraini government’s decisions appear[…]

TLHRC hearing calls on US to hold Bahraini govt accountable

On 9 September 2016, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress (TLHRC) held a hearing to examine the US government’s response to the human rights crisis in Bahrain. Key experts who were asked to testify before TLHRC included Brian Dooley, Director of the Human Rights Defenders Program at Human Rights First (HRF);[…]

NGOs Initiate Campaign to Remove Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council

On 29 June 2016, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called upon the United Nations to immediately suspend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council. In a joint statement, the two organizations asserted that “Saudi Arabia has committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its time as a Council member,[…]

Bahraini Foreign Minister: no political prisoners in Bahrain, only imprisoned terror convicts

In an interview with RT Arabic, Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Minister denied media reports stating there are political prisoners in Bahrain. He said that Bahrain does not have a policy of “silencing voices” and that “there are no prisoners of conscience in Bahrain.” Foreign Affairs Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa asserted, “Those who have been[…]

Bahrain says Human Rights Watch report is “inaccurate”

Bahrain criticized Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) annual report regarding the gulf kingdom. The 659-page document released by HRW in late January 2016 covers human rights in 90 countries. The report documented a number of human rights abuses in Bahrain, to which the Bahraini government responded, saying it “contains fundamental errors,” and “a number of claims[…]