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[…]

HRC34 Oral Interventions: Item #5 on Bahrain

On 17 March 2017, Michael Payne, International Advocacy Officer for ADHRB, delivered an oral intervention at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council under Item 5. In his intervention, he addressed some states’ persistent failure to constructively engage with national and international human rights mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council. Please continue reading for[…]

Sayed Alawi: Fears of Torture as Arbitrary Detention in CID Continues

7 December 2016 – Since 24 October, the Government of Bahrain has arbitrarily detained Sayed Alawi Hussein Alawi in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), where he remains in detention. Sayed Alawi’s family has filed multiple complaints regarding his case to Bahraini officials, and continue to fear that Alawi is subjected to torture. We, the undersigned,[…]

EVENT SUMMARY: Bahrain’s Fake Reform? Human Rights Failures on the Eve of the Manama Dialogue

On 1 December 2016 Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and Amnesty International hosted an event in Congress entitled “Bahrain’s Fake Reform? Human Rights Failures on the Eve of the Manama Dialogue.” The event largely discussed how institutions set up after 2011 to address and prevent human rights violations have failed 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,[…]