Bahrain: A Deep Rooted Culture of Impunity

Institutional Inadequacies In July 2011, the Bahraini government established the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which was charged with investigating allegations of human rights abuses in connection with the government’s suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted in February 2011. Later that year, the BICI published a report which confirmed that government officials employed excessive[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Husain Ali Mohamed

Husain is a high school student. When he was 11 years old, he was arrested for a week with no reason provided; at age 13 he was arrested again. Husain was 17 when he was recently arrested twice and subjected to arbitrary detention and torture. During his detention he missed out on his high school[…]

Profile in Persecution: Fadhel Abbas Sahwan

Fadhel Abbas Sahwan was a football player on the first team of the Galali Bahraini Club. Following high school, he worked as a driver at the National Motor Company. On 5 March 2017 he was violently arrested at his grandmother’s house in Sanabis. He was tortured and subjected to an unfair trial. He was imprisoned[…]

Systematic Attack on Freedom of Expression in Oman

  Authority forces from the Internal Security Service (ISS) in Oman have been active in targeting pro-reform activists for criticizing the Omani government on social media. After the Arab Spring Uprisings in 2011, Oman intensified the restriction on free expression in the country. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported an obvious pattern of repression on[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Abdulla Habib Swar

Abdulla was a student and a football player for Al-Shabab Club when he was arrested in 2019, after authorities pursued him for six years for his participation in the peaceful protest and religious events demanding democracy in 2013. Since his arrest, Abdulla has been tortured and convicted in unfair trials; He is currently in Jau[…]