Prominent Bahraini Political Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison Weeks Before Election

5 November 2018 – Yesterday, on 4 November 2018, leading Bahraini opposition figure Sheikh Ali Salman and two members of the now-dissolved al-Wefaq Society, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali Al Aswad, were sentenced to life in prison for espionage, overturning acquittals by a lower court. This decision comes just weeks before[…]

Bahrain Adjourns Qatar Conspiracy Trial Against Sheikh Ali Salman and Other Al Wefaq Members

On 25 January 2018, Bahraini Advocate General Osama Al Ufi announced that the High Criminal Court again adjourned the trial of Sheikh Ali Salman, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan, and Ali Mehdi Ali Al Aswad over accusations of “exchanging intelligence information with Qatar” to undermine the Al Khalifa monarchy in 2011. The next hearing is[…]

Bahraini government moves to dissolve leading secular, leftist opposition society Wa’ad

6 March 2017 – The Government of Bahrain has today launched legal proceedings to dissolve Wa’ad, the country’s leading secular, leftist opposition society. The move follows the government’s summer 2016 suspension and dissolution of the largest political society, Al-Wefaq, which rendered Wa’ad the last major opposition group in Bahrain. We, the undersigned, condemn in the[…]

Human Rights Go Missing During Secretary Kerry’s Visit to Bahrain

On 7 April, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with the Foreign Ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while on his three-day trip to Bahrain. During his meeting with the GCC Foreign Ministers, they discussed regional security concerns mainly in Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Daésh.  An equally important issue in the region, human[…]

Bahrain Court Sentences Ebrahim Sharif to 1 Year for Peaceful Speech

24 February 2016 – Bahrain’s fourth criminal court today sentenced leading opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif to one year in prison for allegedly “inciting hatred against the regime”. We, the undersigned NGOs, strongly condemn the sentencing of Ebrahim Sharif today, which represents yet another example of Bahrain’s criminalization of free speech. We call for Sharif’s unconditional[…]