The Ongoing Arrest and Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders In May 2019, Amnesty International marked Saudi Arabia’s disgraceful “Year of Shame” in remembrance of a year’s passing since the arrest of several prominent women human rights defenders (WHRDs). Amnesty International stated that “a year ago, the authorities started locking up some of Saudi Arabia’s[…]
16
Dec
Dec
On 14 October 2019, five United Nations (UN) Special Procedures offices sent an Allegation Letter to Bahrain concerning the trial of the so-called “Zulfiqar Brigades,” a mass trial of 138 defendants, in which 115 were convicted. The Special Procedures offices sent a previous communication on 5 November 2018, detailing allegations of enforced disappearances, torture to[…]
08
Sep
Sep
On 16 August 2019, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief sent an to the Government of Qatar. The letter brought forth allegations concerning the discriminatory treatment of the Bahá’í religious minority in Qatar, specifically involving deportations, blacklisting, the inability to build a cemetery,[…]
27
Jun
Jun
27 June 2019 – Last week, on 21 June, the United States (US) Department of State (DoS) published its 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom, analyzing the status of religious freedom globally. This year’s report on Bahrain highlights the degree to which minority religions are free to practice in the kingdom, but also notes multiple[…]
30
Apr
Apr
30 April 2019 – Yesterday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2019 Annual Report, categorizing Bahrain again as a Tier 2 country “for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the ‘systematic, ongoing, egregious’ standard for designation as a ‘country of[…]
