On 18 September 2026, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) delivered an intervention during the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, highlighting the arbitrary detention of minors in Bahrain and their exposure to solitary confinement and physical and psychological abuse. The organization urged the Council to call on Bahrain to end the detention of children, investigate these violations, and hold those responsible accountable.
We draw the Council’s attention to the arbitrary detention of minors in Bahrain, including amid the ongoing regional conflict.
On 8 March 2026, 16-year-old Mahdi Al-Moathin was arrested without a warrant, allegedly for filming a fire near his school. Denied all outside contact for a month, he was deprived of education, family visits, and legal counsel, while being subjected to threats, physical beatings, and sectarian abuse. On 21 July, he was sentenced to six years for terrorism and arson.
The situation of minors in Dry Dock Prison has sharply deteriorated. On 25 August 2026, riot forces stormed building 17 to disperse a peaceful sit-in protesting religious insults and poor conditions, causing injuries, suffocation, and a communications blackout. Ten minors remain in solitary confinement, facing ongoing psychological and physical abuse.
We urge the council to call on Bahrain to end the arbitrary detention and solitary confinement of children and investigate these abuses, and hold those responsible accountable.
