Newsletter #120

ADHRB and BIRD Publish Report on Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission: Fundamentally Flawed On 2 September 2015, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) published a report on the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) in Bahrain. The PDRC is a UK-trained body as part of[…]

Mapping the Saudi State Chapter 6: The Saudi Armed Forces

*Best viewed in full-screen mode. In Mapping the Saudi State, Chapter 6: The Saudi Armed Forces, ADHRB studies the major branches of the Saudi government’s military and the Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA), which oversees their activity. Since its origins in the 1930s, the Saudi armed forces have largely been organized and trained by foreign[…]

How President Obama Can Help Counter Violent Extremism in Saudi Arabia

This article originally appeared in Muftah.org and has been republished with permission. By Eric Eikenberry, advocacy associate at ADHRB Two weeks ago, the U.S. campaign to win the hearts and minds of potential ISIS supporters resurfaced in Saudi Arabia. In an article titled, “The World Is Winning the Online Battle with Da’esh” (a fairly close translation[…]

Letter Urges President Obama to Press Saudi King for Civil Society Protections

3 September 2015 – Today, eight U.S. and internationally-based NGOs, in partnership with seven foreign policy experts and human rights advocates, sent a letter to President Obama that urges him to press Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for greater civil society protections within the kingdom. Tomorrow, King Salman will meet President Obama at the[…]

Five police officers Acquitted of Torture Despite Credible Evidence

On 2 September 2015, Judge Mohammed Bin Ali al-Khalifa, head judge of the Bahraini High Criminal Court, acquitted 5 police officers who had been temporarily suspended for beating a man during his arrest. The man in question was being arrested on suspicion of drug possession, but was beaten by the police officers in order to[…]