On 10 May 2017, Bahrain’s High Appeals court upheld the death sentence of Maher Abbas al-Khabbaz on charges related to his alleged role in the murder of a police officer in February 2013. The trial of al-Khabbaz failed to meet international standards of due process. Bahraini authorities reportedly subjected al-Khabbaz to torture and other forms[…]
On 4 May 2017, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, returned from a five-day visit of Saudi Arabia. Upon the conclusion of his trip, he released his preliminary observations. While he noted that the Saudi government was engaging in some positive steps to[…]
Today, the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted Bahrain’s 3rd Cycle Universal Periodic Review, in which states issued recommendations to the Government of Bahrain to improve its human rights record. Dozens of states gave recommendations that encompassed thematic issue areas ranging from improving religious freedom to halting executions, from strengthening women’s rights to protecting freedom of[…]
On 10 March 2017, Zena el-Esia of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights delivered an oral intervention in conjunction with ADHRB at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council. She participated in the Item #3 General Debate, delivering an oral intervention highlighting specific cases of concern relating to the death penalty and the use[…]
8 March 2017 – In his report to the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, raised the “increasing levels of human rights violations” in Bahrain, and called on the government to address these violations. He reiterated his position that, “this repression will[…]