Profile in Persecution: Mohamed Abduljalil Abdulla

Mohamed Abduljalil Abdulla was arrested without a warrant in 2016 from his house in Bahrain. Now 34 years old, Mohamed was never informed of the charges against him. He has been subjected to numerous due process violations during his unfair imprisonment. On 3 July 2016, officers in civilian clothing raided Mohamed’s house and warrantlessly arrested[…]

Profile in Persecution: Sadeq Jaafar Shamlooh

Sadeq Jaafar Shamlooh was a 16-year-old freshman student when he was warrantlessly arrested, tortured, and sentenced in several unfair trials. He is currently held in Jau Prison where is he is serving a 26-year sentence, meaning that by the time he serves his sentence, he would have spent more than half his life in prison.[…]

Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Bahraini imprisoned for reciting a prayer was arbitrarily deprived of liberty

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) published an Opinion on its website formed on 15 July 2022 concerning AbdulNabi AbdulHasan Ebrhaim Khalil, a 50-year-old Bahraini citizen from Hamad Town who recites prayers during religious occasions as a Maddah at Ma’tam AlSammakeen. He was sentenced to a year in prison for reciting Ziyarat[…]

UN WGAD warns that Systemic Deprivation of Liberty in Bahrain may constitute Crimes against Humanity

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) published on its website their Opinion from 20 July 2022 concerning five young Bahraini citizens sentenced in an unfair mass trial known as the Soleimani Cell Case. The Working Group found that the individuals were arbitrarily arrested in violation of international human rights law. These five[…]

Self-inflicted wounds: Courting the good-will of Middle East dictators

News that President Biden is traveling to the Gulf region this month to meet with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a betrayal of his promise to put “human rights at the center of our foreign policy, of the pro-democracy activists and journalists who have[…]