HRC34 Oral Interventions: Item 6 on Bahrain’s lack of UPR implementation

On 17 March 2017, Michael Payne, International Advocacy Officer at ADHRB, delivered an oral intervention during the 34th session of the Human Rights Council under Item 6 on behalf of ADHRB, BIRD, and BCHR. In his intervention he addressed the Bahraini government’s unwillingness to implement its second-cycle UPR recommendations, including to curb torture or protect[…]

NGO Letter of Appeal: Human rights defender Ghada Jamsheer remains in jail despite poor health

Women’s rights defender, writer and blogger Ghada Jamsheer remains in jail in Bahrain serving a combined ten-month sentence for exercising her right to free expression on Twitter. On 7 November 2016, Jamsheer appeared before Judge Mohamed Al-Khalifa of the High Criminal Court of Appeal to request that she be freed to serve out the remainder[…]

Ghada Jamsheer arrest calls attention to Bahrain’s targeting of women

Bahraini human rights defender Ghada Jamsheer was arrested on 15 August 2016, one month ago. She had just returned to her home country of Bahrain after spending several months in London for medical treatment. As soon as she arrived at the airport in Manama, police arrested her on charges related to her criticism of Bahraini[…]

Bahrain: Foreign Minister glosses over rights record at UN General Assembly

27 September 2016 – Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa delivered a statement yesterday on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The undersigned NGOs condemn the Foreign Minister’s misleading and unconstructive remarks as the Bahraini government continues its campaign to conceal its human rights violations[…]

Ghada Jamsheer at risk of re-arrest for tweets

Bahraini human rights defender Ghada Jamsheer is in danger of being re-arrested following the decision of an appeals court to increase her sentence. The charges are in relation to several tweets attributed to Jamsheer in which she accused the royally-operated King Hamad Hospital of corruption. Jamsheer leads  a network of women human rights defenders (WHRDs)[…]