Introduction Since May 2026, Bahrain has been waging an unprecedented crackdown on its Shia citizens, manifested through a wave of raids, citizenship revocations, and mass arrests targeting dozens of preachers, religious reciters (rawadid), activists, and clerics. The number of detained clerics has reached 53. This is unfolding against a backdrop of acute regional tensions linked[…]
Since the escalation of the 2026 conflict involving Iran, the United Arab Emirates has introduced and reinforced restrictions on filming and sharing footage of missile strikes and their aftermath. Authorities have warned residents and visitors not to record or circulate images of missile debris, attack sites or sensitive locations, citing concerns related to public safety[…]
In August, the State Department released its annual Human Rights Report on Bahrain. The report highlights human rights developments in Bahrain in the previous year, 2024. It is the first of the reports from the Trump administration. By comparing and contrasting this report with the last report from the Biden administration, the Bahrain 2023 Human[…]
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) participated in the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC60), held from 8 September to 8 October 2025. During this session, ADHRB delivered seven oral interventions exposing human rights violations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), particularly in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It[…]
This month, Kuwait announced the formation of an ad-hoc committee to find ways of improving human rights within the country. The committee is composed of several departmental heads and seeks to improve human rights within the country through a variety of means. One of the goals of the newly established committee is to bolster cooperation[…]





