20 December 2016 H.E. Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais Wilson 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva Switzerland CC: David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on Free Expression Michele Forst, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Dear Mr. High Commissioner, We, the undersigned human rights organizations, write to urge your office[…]
07
Dec
Dec
The following letter was sent to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion. We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are deeply concerned by the continued targeting of individuals, including journalists, for their free expression in the Kingdom of Bahrain. As the Manama Dialogue defense conference is set to take place from December 9th to 11th,[…]
15
Nov
Nov
Using her Twitter handle, @angryarabiya, Zainab al-Khawaja amassed nearly 50,000 followers and became a prominent voice of the 2011 pro-democracy movement in Bahrain. She, along with fellow human rights defenders, provided on-the-ground updates on protests and demonstrations via her Twitter page. Her cyberactivism helped bring greater international attention to the human rights abuses committed by the Government[…]
14
Nov
Nov
UPDATE: 14 November 2016, 2:00pm EST – The United States Department of State has called for the Government of Bahrain to drop all charges against Ebrahim Sharif, noting that that the Department has raised the case directly with Bahraini authorities. Director of Press Relations Elizabeth Trudeau stated that “no one anywhere should be prosecuted or[…]
28
Oct
Oct
On 26 June 2016, Bahraini security forces stormed Taiba Ismail’s house and arrested her. The Government of Bahrain has since charged Ismail for tweets she posted, saying that she “incited hatred against the government.” Ismail’s arrest came at the height of the government’s renewed campaign of judicial harassment against opposition leaders, political activists, and human[…]
