Trial of Nabeel Rajab Postponed Yet Again in Bahrain

  After 455 days of arbitrary detention, the Bahraini government has again postponed the trial of leading human rights defender and president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab. Arrested on 13 June 2016, Rajab was sentenced to two years in prison in a separate case in July 2017, and is now[…]

Dispatch: Criminalizing “Sympathy” – Free Expression Abuses Find New Catalyst in the GCC Crisis

Any end to the weeks-long Qatar-Gulf crisis was last month made contingent, in part, on the shuttering of Al Jazeera and its affiliate stations, as well as the closure of all news outlets that are—directly or indirectly, partially or wholly—funded by Qatar. Justified by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt as[…]

Nabeel Rajab sentenced to 2 years in absentia as unfair trial concludes

10 July 2017 –The Third Circuit Lower Criminal Court today sentenced Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to two years in prison on charges solely based on his exercise of freedom of expression. The prosecution and trial, which were initiated by the Ministry of Interior’s Cyber Crime Directorate, are based on[…]

Bahrain “Reopens” Pearl Monument but Obscures its Legacy

On 14 February 2011, thousands of Bahraini citizens joined together to peacefully call for democratic reforms and human rights protections. Two days later, on 16 February, the protesters occupied the Pearl Roundabout, a traffic circle in Manama that took its name from the 300-ft high pearl monument at its center. Demonstrators established an encampment and stayed overnight, even organizing[…]

ADHRB Condemns Raif Badawi’s Continued Imprisonment in Saudi

Today marks the fifth anniversary of activist and blogger Raif Badawi’s imprisonment in Saudi Arabia on charges of apostasy and allegedly insulting Islam in his blog “Free Saudi Liberals.” Americans for Democracy (ADHRB) strongly condemns his continued imprisonment and the Saudi government’s suppression of free expression and targeting of critics. Saudi authorities detained Badawi on[…]