Geneva, Switzerland — 28 September 2015 — On behalf of Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, ADHRB international advocacy officer Michael Payne delivered an oral intervention on the international trend of increasing restrictions on free expression. To highlight this trend in Bahrain, Payne quoted a letter from imprisoned Bahraini opposition leader, Fadhel Abbas who received a five year prison sentence for tweeting criticism of Bahrain’s participation in the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen. In particular, the intervention calls on states like Bahrain to end the criminalization of free speech and to release all those imprisoned for exercising this universal right. An Arabic version of the intervention can be accessed here.
Video of the intervention can be found here.
