Bahrain Issues Six New Death Sentences for Terror Charges in Military Trial

26 December 2017 – On 25 December 2017, a Bahraini military court sentenced six men to death on charges of forming a terrorist cell and plotting to assassinate a military official. The men, five of whom are Shia and one of whom is Sunni, also had their citizenship revoked. With their convictions, Bahrain has sentenced 14[…]

New Saudi counter-terrorism law fails to meet international standards

On 1 November 2017, Saudi Arabia established a new counter-terrorism law. This law, consisting of 96 articles (27 of which deal solely with punishments), replaces and expands upon the last counter-terror law passed in December 2013. Instead of using the nearly four years since the last passage of law to improve legislation roundly criticized for[…]

An Overview of ADHRB Engagement at the 36th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

From 11 to 29 September 2017, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) participated in the 36th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to bring increased attention to the ongoing human rights abuses in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Over the course of[…]

Bahrain: US State Department Documents Decline in Terrorism Last Year, Continued Rights Concerns

On 19 July 2017, the United States (US) Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT) released its Country Reports on Terrorism for 2016. Although the country report on Bahrain fails to assess the full impact of the kingdom’s increasing abuse of counterterror measures to target nonviolent activism and dissent, Americans for Democracy &[…]

UN Rapporteur on Countering Terrorism Visits Saudi Arabia

On 30 April 2017, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, arrived in Saudi Arabia for a five-day visit—he left today, 4 May. During his visit, he sought “to provide assistance in the implementation of the country’s 2014 Penal Law for Terrorism and its[…]