Introduction
Since May 2026, Bahrain has been waging an unprecedented crackdown on its Shia citizens, manifested through a wave of raids, citizenship revocations, and mass arrests targeting dozens of preachers, religious reciters (rawadid), activists, and clerics. The number of detained clerics has reached 53. This is unfolding against a backdrop of acute regional tensions linked to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The measures have triggered widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and political, amid accusations that Bahraini authorities are weaponizing counter-terrorism laws and security discourse to suppress freedom of expression, belief, and peaceful assembly. This represents an escalation of the repressive policies that intensified following the 2011 protests, but with greater intensity and breadth.
With the outbreak of the war against Iran and the targeting and assassination of Shia Supreme Leader Sayed Ali Khamenei, citizens took to the streets to protest and express their grief and anger through gatherings and social media posts. In response, Bahraini authorities launched a sweeping, disproportionate security crackdown against their own citizens — encompassing citizenship revocations, restrictions on religious and political freedoms, closure of opposition associations, prosecution of clerics, preachers, and activists, and arbitrary arrests that spared no one, including women and children, followed by the issuance of. This current campaign has exploited the volatile regional dynamics to portray Shia opposition figures and religious symbols as security threats or extensions of foreign influence, without providing any clear legal evidence — thereby violating the authorities’ own pledges and legal obligations to guarantee citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and belief.
The Arrest Campaign
On 9 May 2026, Bahraini authorities launched an unprecedented and wide-ranging security operation targeting the Shia community through night raids on the homes of clerics, preachers, and religious and social figures across various regions. Security forces, some in plainclothes, carried out forcible raids accompanied by searches of homes, religious institutions, and charitable organizations, and seized books, electronic devices, mobile phones, and personal documents.
Arrests were carried out without presenting judicial warrants; some detainees were denied contact with their families or lawyers for hours or even days following their arrest. Many detainees were also subjected to verbal abuse and humiliation during raids and interrogations.
In the wake of this campaign, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced the detention of what it described as an “organization linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard,” indicating the collective arrest of 41 Shia clerics on grounds of “sympathy with Iranian attacks” and ” contact with foreign entities,” publishing photographs of detainees on social media. The arrests subsequently expanded rapidly to encompass dozens of clerics, mosque imams, and Shia religious and social figures, raising the number of detainees to 53.
Among the most prominent individuals arrested are Sheikh Mohammed Sanqour, Sheikh Ali AlSadadi, Sayed Majid AlMashal, Sheikh Mahmoud AlAli, and Sheikh Raed AlSatri, alongside other clerics, preachers, and activists linked to religious and social institutions within the Bahraini Shia community. It has also been confirmed that three prominent Bahraini clerics — Allama Sheikh Ibrahim AlAnsari, Sayed Mohammed AlHashemi, and Sheikh Ahmed Amrallah — were deported within the span of one week.
The ongoing arrest campaign has triggered a broad wave of condemnation inside and outside Bahrain, with several villages and areas witnessing protests and solidarity vigils, alongside online and popular campaigns calling for the release of detainees. Statements of denunciation were also issued by religious scholars, political bodies, and human rights organizations, which described the charges leveled against the detainees as “fabricated” and designed to target religious and ceremonial activity. These statements warned that such measures violate human rights principles and international standards, and threaten to deepen social divisions and fuel domestic tensions.
A Recurring Pattern of Targeting
These developments sparked a wide wave of human rights condemnation — not only because of the high number of detainees and the nature of the figures targeted, but also because of the violations that accompanied the arrest, interrogation, and trial processes. Information received by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) indicates the recurrence of patterns previously documented in “national security” and “terrorism” cases, including enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, and deprivation of fundamental legal safeguards.
Among the most prominent concerns raised was the disappearance of several detained clerics for hours or days after their arrest, without their families being informed of their place of detention or which authority was conducting the interrogation. Some families only learned of their relatives’ fate through brief phone calls permitted at a later stage. ADHRB has also documented testimony indicating that some detainees were subjected to solitary confinement during the early stages of interrogation, in conditions feared to be used as psychological pressure to extract confessions under coercion.
Violations of the right to legal counsel also emerged; testimonies from families and lawyers indicate that some detainees were interrogated before the Terrorism Crimes Prosecution without legal representation, or after excessive delays in granting access to lawyers. Accounts also describe lawyers being notified of interrogation sessions at the last minute, effectively preventing their attendance and denying detainees adequate opportunity to consult with them.
The “Terrorism” Charge and Overbroad Legislation
In the recent arrest campaign, Bahraini authorities relied on the Law on Protection of Society from Terrorist Acts — specifically Law No. 58 of 2006 as amended in 2019 — as the legal framework granting security agencies broad powers to confront what the state characterizes as “terrorist threats” or “foreign links.” The government justified these measures as necessary to protect national security and counter what it termed “Iranian infiltration” of religious and social institutions, accusing several detainees of promoting loyalty to foreign entities, links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, exploiting religious platforms for political incitement, illegal fundraising, and threatening internal security and stability. The Ministry of Interior further claimed that certain clerics and religious reciters had exceeded the “religious framework” and moved beyond “politicization” and “serving foreign agendas.”
However, this law has faced repeated criticism over the past years from United Nations bodies and international human rights organizations due to its overbroad definition of “terrorism” and the ambiguity of several provisions, which allow for expansive interpretations that may encompass peaceful opposition or independent religious and intellectual activity. The UN Committee Against Torture noted that Bahrain’s definition of terrorism — particularly following the 2019 amendments — is vague and sweeping, which may lead to the legislation being applied beyond its stated purpose of countering actual terrorism, transforming it into a legal tool for targeting critics, dissidents, and human rights defenders.
In this regard, ADHRB affirms that Bahraini authorities have not produced any public and documented evidence proving the charges against the detained clerics, and that the accusations were framed in overbroad terms typically used to criminalize peaceful dissent or religious and intellectual activity. ADHRB emphasizes that intellectual or religious affiliation does not in itself constitute a crime under international law, and that freedom of belief, opinion, and expression is guaranteed by the Bahraini Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). ADHRB further asserts that the problem lies not only in how the law is applied, but also in the nature of the legal texts themselves: the broad wording of concepts such as “harm to national security,” “communication with foreign entities,” and “incitement” permits wide interpretations that may encompass peaceful political activity, religious discourse, or even the expression of opinion.
A War on Freedoms
Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR prohibit any discrimination on the basis of religion, opinion, or political affiliation. UN mechanisms further affirm that counter-terrorism laws may not be used to criminalize religious practice or peaceful dissent. Yet in Bahrain, human rights data points to a systematic pattern of discrimination and targeting against Shia citizens under the labels of “national security” and “counter-terrorism,” embedded in official discourse that accuses them of loyalty to foreign powers or “foreign agendas.”
Over fifteen years, human rights organizations have documented the detention of approximately 20,000 Shia citizens. ADHRB has submitted dozens of complaints on behalf of hundreds of them to various UN special procedure mandate holders and obtained positions condemning their detention and calling for their immediate release — leading to release in a limited number of cases. Authorities have also persisted in their persecution: over these years, they have revoked more than 1,000 citizenships, detained approximately 150 clerics, demolished 37 mosques, documented more than 1,500 violations related to religious rites, and closed religious and political associations, as well as perpetuating discrimination in employment within security, military, and judicial institutions.
Recent official statements — including remarks by the Minister of Interior about “purging Bahrain” — have raised serious concerns about inciteful and exclusionary rhetoric that contradicts international covenants and treaties. These concerns are heightened as Muharram and Ashura approach, given a well-documented record of restrictions on Shia religious rites.
ADHRB condemns the Bahraini authorities’—particularly the Ministry of Interior’s—ongoing campaign targeting Shia citizens, including the arrests, prosecutions, and restrictions imposed on religious figures and institutions. ADHRB views these measures as part of a broader pattern of repression and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Bahrain. The recent crackdown contradicts official claims made before international and human rights bodies in recent years regarding progress in human rights reforms, expanded civic space, and respect for human rights and freedom of religion or belief. Instead, the actions taken by the authorities reflect practices that have repeatedly been documented over the past 15 years; including restrictions on religious activities, prosecution of clerics and preachers, suppression of religious and charitable associations, and the use of allegations of foreign loyalty to discredit dissenting voices. ADHRB is particularly concerned by the targeting of clerics, who serve as important religious and social figures within Bahrain’s Shia community. ADHRB warns that such measures further restrict freedom of religion and belief and may increase discrimination against Bahrain’s Shia community.
Recommendations
- Call on the international community and UN mechanisms — particularly the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief, arbitrary detention, and torture — to intervene urgently and press Bahraini authorities to release all detainees, ensure their physical and psychological safety, and independently and transparently monitor detention conditions and investigation proceedings.
- Demand that the Bahraini Ministry of Interior halt policies of targeting and discrimination based on religious or intellectual affiliation, in accordance with the principle of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in international human rights instruments.
- Guarantee all detainees immediate and unrestricted access to lawyers of their own choosing, enable regular communication with their families, and provide all fair trial guarantees — including a prohibition on prolonged solitary confinement and on all forms of torture, coercion, or extraction of coerced confessions.
- Urge the Bahraini authorities to fully comply with their legal obligations as a state party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment—including protecting all detainees from torture and ill-treatment from the moment of arrest and throughout all stages of detention, interrogation, and trial.
- Review the application of Article 27 of Law No. 58 of 2006 on the Protection of Society from Terrorist Acts, and ensure that detention extension powers are not applied in an expansive manner that undermines legal safeguards or exposes detainees to the risk of violations.
- End restrictions on the peaceful exercise of freedom of thought, opinion, expression, and belief, in line with Bahrain’s international commitments; guarantee the protection of religious discourse, intellectual activity, and peaceful political activism; and cease the prosecution of clerics, preachers, and activists on account of their opinions or intellectual or religious affiliations.
ADHRB expresses profound concern over the recent arrest campaign in Bahrain and the accompanying restrictions and measures that infringe upon fundamental rights guaranteed by international law — in particular freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly — especially as the Ashura season and Muharram rites approach. ADHRB believes that the use of broadly worded counter-terrorism and security legislation against clerics, preachers, and heads of ma’tams (Shia mourning halls) raises grave concerns about the deployment of these laws to restrict peaceful religious practices and rites.
ADHRB affirms that these practices contravene Bahrain’s international obligations under the ICCPR and the Convention Against Torture, as well as the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief, arbitrary detention, and freedom of opinion and expression, which have repeatedly called for an end to the targeting of religious practices and Ashura rites, and for ensuring that security legislation is not used to criminalize peaceful religious activity or restrict fundamental freedoms under the pretext of national security or counter-terrorism.
