On 24 May 2026, Bahraini authorities arrested activist and former political prisoner Ali Mohsen Muhana after summoning him to Al-Naeem Police Station, before referring him for interrogation and subsequently ordering his pretrial detention in connection with his participation in a religious mourning ceremony in the capital, Manama. This arrest was not an isolated incident in his long history of persecution, but rather another episode in a pattern of targeting he has faced for more than a decade due to his peaceful activism.
For years, Muhana has been subjected to repeated summonses and arrests for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly, as well as for his advocacy on behalf of political prisoners, including his son, Husain Muhana. He is once again facing detention, this time for exercising his right to freedom of religion and belief, while concerns continue to grow over the deterioration of his health condition in prison.
Activist and Former Political Prisoner
Ali Mohsen Muhana is a Bahraini activist, former political prisoner, and the father of political prisoner Husain Muhana. He previously worked as an Arabic language teacher at Al-Imam Ali School in Ma’ameer, before being dismissed from his position following his arrest in connection with his participation in the peaceful protests of 2017. Since then, he has become one of the prominent voices calling for the release of political prisoners and advocating for their rights, making him a repeated target of summonses, arrests, and retaliatory measures.
On 23 May 2017, Muhana was arrested during the repression of the Diraz demonstration in support of Sheikh Isa Qasem. He was shot in the head with a shotgun pellet, sustaining a permanent injury that affected the vision in his right eye. Following his injury, he was taken to a nearby house where he received limited first aid before security forces arrested him.
During his arrest, Muhana was beaten and insulted while being transferred to a military bus. He was then held for 23 days at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), where he was subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment. He was denied contact with his family for five days following his arrest and was only allowed a phone call lasting no more than one minute. He was later transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center, where he received limited medical treatment for his injury. He was temporarily released in January 2018 after paying a fine, while his trial was still ongoing. In April 2019, he turned himself in to serve a one-year prison sentence. During his detention at Jau Prison, he was again deliberately beaten on the site of his previous injury, causing him to lose consciousness and resulting in chronic headaches from which he continues to suffer to this day.
Years of Summonses and Persecution
The harassment against Muana did not end following his release. Instead, it continued systematically due to his human rights activism and his advocacy for political prisoners, including his son Husain.
In 2021, Muhanna was fined 2,000 Bahraini dinars for participating in protests calling for the release of political prisoners during the COVID-19 outbreak at Jau Prison. He was also arrested between 12 and 30 June of the same year over a social media post addressing the death of prisoner Husain Barakat.
The pattern of targeting continued in subsequent years. Muhana was subjected to 18 summonses in 2022, followed by 13 summonses in 2023, and nine summonses up to mid-May 2024. These summonses were all linked to his participation in peaceful gatherings or his social media posts addressing prison conditions, calling for the release of political prisoners, supporting victims of executions, advocating for reform, and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
In May 2024, he was arrested again after participating in a protest outside Jau Prison alongside families of political prisoners and individuals sentenced to death, demanding the release of their relatives. The Public Prosecution ordered his detention for seven days on charges of “illegal assembly.”
In 2025, Muhana was summoned 11 times, including three summonses within a period of only two days. He was also detained for ten days on charges of chanting slogans during a mourning gathering, solely for his peaceful calls for the release of his son Husain and other political prisoners.
These incidents do not constitute isolated events, but rather form part of a continuous pattern of persecution against him. This is reflected in the figures: since 2013, Ali Muhana has been arrested 20 times and has spent most of his detention periods in Dry Dock Detention Center. He was also summoned for questioning 65 times between 2021 and May 2026.
The summonses included eight in 2021, 18 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and 11 in 2025, in addition to a new summons in 2026 before his latest arrest. All of these measures were linked to his participation in peaceful marches and protests or his social media posts calling for reform and the release of political prisoners, particularly his son Husain.
Latest Arrest in May 2026
On 25 March 2026, Bahraini authorities arrested Ali Muhana after summoning him to a security center over a social media post in which he expressed his opposition to Bahrain being drawn into regional conflicts.
In the post, he wrote: “I am a Bahraini citizen, and I fear for my country,” calling for Bahrain to remain neutral in wars, for the cancellation of the normalization agreement, and for the closure of the US military base. His arrest came amid a broader security crackdown in Bahrain coinciding with escalating military tensions in the region.
After 47 days in detention, Muhana was released on 10 May 2026. However, his release did not bring an end to his suffering. In a message published following his release, he stated that he had “embraced freedom with a sense of sorrow,” expressing his hope for the release of his son Husain and all political prisoners.
Only two weeks after his release, at 3:00 a.m. on 24 May, Muhana received a text message from Al-Naeem Police Station requesting that he report to the station without providing any explanation. He later received another phone call on the same day confirming the summons. Hours before receiving the summons, he had posted a video documenting his participation in a mourning procession commemorating Imam Muhamed al-Baqir (peace be upon him) in the capital, Manama. The annual religious event is observed by members of the Shia community on the sixth day of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Upon arriving at the police station, Muhana was transferred to the Cybercrime Directorate, where he was informed that the investigation was related to his participation in an “unauthorized mourning ceremony.” He was subsequently referred to pretrial detention, marking the latest episode of the ongoing persecution he has faced for peacefully exercising his fundamental rights.
During interrogation, Muhana affirmed that he did not deny his participation, as it constituted an exercise of his right to freedom of religion and belief, a right guaranteed under the Bahraini Constitution. He added that there was no need to provide evidence of his participation, as he had never denied it. When the investigator informed him that the procession included “unacceptable” chants, he clarified that he had not chanted any slogans and that his presence was limited to participating in the mourning ceremony. During his first phone call with his family, he informed them that he would be transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center the following day.
Torture and Ill-Treatment
During his time at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) building, Muhana was subjected to repeated beatings to his head, specifically targeting the area of his previous injury caused by a shotgun pellet in 2017. According to his testimony, one officer told him that he deliberately struck him in that area “to see if it still hurts.” Information indicates that the assault was repeated again in July 2026.
The assault resulted in a significant deterioration of his health condition. He suffered from severe headaches and dizziness and became unable to stand or perform prayers, forcing him to request medical care. His family also reported that he remained bedridden for several days, while the Dry Dock Detention Center clinic only provided him with “Panadol” painkillers, without offering specialized medical care.
Ongoing Medical Neglect
On 1 July 2026, Muhana’s family submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman’s Office and the Bahrain Human Rights Society. Following the complaint, he was transferred to the prison clinic on 1 and 2 July, where it was found that he had persistently high blood pressure.
He was provided with oral and intravenous medication; however, his condition did not improve. Blood samples were also taken to the hospital for testing, but neither Muhana nor his family were informed of the results.
Due to the continued deterioration of his health, his family submitted a second complaint on 6 July, requesting that he be examined by a specialist doctor or transferred to a hospital rather than being limited to treatment at the prison clinic.
The following day, he was transferred to Salmaniya Medical Complex. However, he was not examined by a specialist, nor did he undergo the required scans. Doctors only informed him that his blood pressure remained high and increased his medication.
Following the family’s continued follow-up with the relevant authorities, they learned that his scan appointment had been scheduled for 11 August 2026, more than one month later, despite his deteriorating health condition. This delay prompted the family to submit a third complaint on 12 July, objecting to the postponement of necessary medical examinations.
During a phone call on 13 July, Muhana informed his family that, as a form of punishment following his transfer to Salmaniya Medical Complex, he had been moved to a room designated for smokers despite him being a non-smoker, causing him to suffer from repeated coughing episodes. He was also placed in a cell containing only a squat toilet, despite suffering from a previous fracture in the pelvic and coccyx area, further worsening his daily suffering.
Continued Pretrial Detention
Since his arrest, Muhana has appeared before the Public Prosecution on multiple occasions, with his detention extended each time.
On 24 May, the Public Prosecution ordered his detention for one week on charges related to participating in an “unauthorized mourning ceremony.” His detention was subsequently extended for two weeks on 1 June, for an additional two weeks on 15 June, and for another two weeks on 1 July .He was brought before the authorities again on 15 July, where his detention was renewed for an additional 15 days.
Despite his lawyer’s submission of a request for expedited action on the case, no response has been received to date, while his pretrial detention continues to be repeatedly prolonged.
Clear Violations of International Law
The arrest of Ali Muhana for participating in a religious event, along with the torture, ill-treatment, and medical neglect he has endured, constitutes a violation of Article 22 of the Bahraini Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to practice religious rites.
It also constitutes a violation of Articles 9, 18, 19, 21, and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protect the rights to liberty and security of person, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association.
Furthermore, these violations are inconsistent with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), which require authorities to provide detainees with timely and appropriate healthcare and ensure that they are treated with respect for their inherent human rights.
This case further reveals a continued pattern of using repeated summonses, detentions, and criminal proceedings to punish activists and families of political prisoners for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights, rather than protecting those rights.
Recommendations
Accordingly, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) condemns the continued detention of Bahraini activist and former political prisoner Ali Muhana, who was arrested solely for exercising his right to freedom of religion and belief. ADHRB emphasizes that his arrest forms a part of a longstanding pattern of targeting that he has faced for years due to his peaceful activism and his calls for the release of political prisoners, representing a continued violation of his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
ADHRB calls on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ali Mohsen Muhana, drop all charges related to his peaceful exercise of his fundamental rights, and launch an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, ensuring that those responsible are held accountable. ADHRB further calls on authorities to provide him with urgent and specialised medical care, end the policy of repeated summonses and detentions targeting activists and families of political prisoners, and ensure respect for the fundamental rights guaranteed under international human rights law.
