Bahrain: Fourth Annual Report of Police Ombudsman Reveals Failure to Fulfill Mandate

On 12 September 2017, the Ombudsman for Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) released its fourth annual report for the period of 1 May 2016 to 30 April 2017. As in its previous report, the Ombudsman’s Office re-emphasizes its autonomy from the government and greater security establishment, presenting statistics concerning the complaints of MOI malfeasance that[…]

US Must Maintain Restrictions, Push for Reforms Following Bahrain Interior Minister Visit

14 July 2017 – Bahrain’s Minister of Interior, Lt. General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, visited Washington, DC this week to discuss security cooperation with a number of American officials, including the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense. While we encourage bilateral talks between American policymakers and the Government of Bahrain, and we acknowledge[…]

A Summary of the UN Committee Against Torture’s Review of Bahrain

On 20 March and 24 March 2017, Bahrain was reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland. A Bahraini government delegation led by Assistant to the Foreign Minister, Abdulla bin Faisal bin Jabur al-Doseri, updated the UN Committee on Bahrain’s efforts to implement the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which it acceded to in[…]

ACPRA and Restrictions on Human Rights Organizations in Saudi Arabia

In March 2013, the Saudi government forced the Saudi Arabian Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) to close. ACPRA was a prominent human rights organization, and one of the few independent civil society organizations in the country. On 29 May 2016, the government’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced ACPRA’s last free co-founder, Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, to[…]

Ombudsman Report Continues to Sidestep Key Human Rights Issues

On 2 June 2016, the Ombudsman of the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain released its annual report for 2015/2016. The report documents the Ombudsman’s activities throughout the year, describing an office that diligently works to investigate and resolve human rights abuses. We remain concerned that deep and systemic flaws in the Ombudsman’s mandate,[…]