Family Members of BIRD’s Director of Advocacy Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison as Reprisal Trial Concludes

31 October 2017 – The Bahraini authorities yesterday convicted three innocent family members of exiled human rights defender Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei in a show trial aimed at the suppression of his UK-based work. We, the undersigned, unequivocally condemn the arbitrary arrest, torture and unfair trial of Hajer Mansoor Hassan, Sayed Nizar Alwadaei and Mahmood Marzooq[…]

Bahrain: Journalist, Activists Convicted in Unfair Mass Trial

30 October 2017 – A Bahraini court today convicted 19 individuals on terror charges after an unfair mass trial, with penalties ranging from ten years to life in prison. Fifteen of the defendants were stripped of their citizenship. Among those convicted were former Al-Wasat journalist Mahmood al-Jazeeri; Husain Abdulwahab Husain, son of imprisoned opposition leader[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Husain Ali Mohamed

Husain Ali Mohamed is a young man from the Bahraini village of Karbabad who was in his second year of university when he was detained on 24 April 2016. He was tortured into giving a confession under detention and then sentenced to death. Husain was seized along with his friend Sayed Ahmed al-Abbar by unidentified[…]

High-Profile Political Leaders and Human Rights Defenders Face Ongoing Degradation, Punishment, and Restrictions on Access to Medical Care

27 October 2017 – We the undersigned organizations condemn Bahrain’s continuing degradation and abuse of a group of high-profile human rights defenders and political leaders. The group, known as the rumūz (“leading figures”) in Bahrain, is segregated in Building No. 7 of Jau Prison and consists of: AbdulWahab Husain, Mohamed Ali Ismaeel, Mohamed Hasan Jawad,[…]

Bahraini Appeals Court Confirms Dissolution of Wa’ad, Last Major Opposition Group

26 October 2017 – Bahrain’s High Court of Appeals has today confirmed the asset seizure and dissolution of Wa’ad (also known as the National Democratic Action Society), the country’s largest secular, leftist opposition group. Wa’ad was the last major opposition group officially operating in Bahrain following the July 2016 dissolution of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.[…]