UPDATED: Bahrain’s High Court of Appeals Expected to Issue Ruling on Public Prosecution’s Appeal of Sheikh Ali Salman Verdict on 4 November

**Update 15 October 2018 – Today, the High Court of Appeals announced they are scheduled to issue a ruling on the Public Prosecution’s appeal of Sheikh Ali Salman’s ‘not guilty’ verdict on 4 November 2018. If the verdict is upheld, Sheikh Ali Salman is expected to be released in December 2018.  **Update 26 September 2018[…]

Bahrain Fails to Meet Key UN Goals for Sustainable Development, Evades NGO Questions

17 July 2018 – Yesterday, the Government of Bahrain presented a Voluntary National Review (VNR) of its efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the High-Level Political Forum of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), claiming that the kingdom has made significant progress towards the 17 objectives laid out[…]

Bahrain Moves to Ban Opposition Ahead of 2018 Elections

** Update 11 June 2018: Today, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain confirmed the amendment to Law No. 14 relating to political exclusion. The amendment will soon be published in the Official Gazette.  30 May 2018 – The National Assembly, Bahrain’s parliament, has advanced new legislation that will virtually ban members of the political[…]

Bahrain Vows Greater Crackdown on Online Criticism Amid New Arrests

28 March 2018 – On Sunday, 25 March 2018, Bahraini Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa announced that the kingdom’s security forces would be taking new measures to “track down” activists for criticizing the government on social media. That same day, Ministry of Interior (MOI) police made at least five new arrests[…]

Prosecution calls for “Maximum Penalty” Against Bahraini Opposition Leader Sheikh Ali Salman

Bahrain’s Public Prosecution presented its argument in the new case against arbitrarily imprisoned opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman today, 8 March 2018, calling for the “maximum penalty” to be imposed on the politician and his two in absentia codefendants, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mehdi Ali Al Aswad. The three men – all[…]