BICI Chairman Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni passes away at 79

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, the Chairman of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), passed away on 25 September 2017 at the age of 79. Bassiouni was a former Distinguished Research Professor at DePaul University College of Law, and he received an LLB from the University of Cairo, a JD from Indiana University, an LLM from[…]

Saudi Arabia Announces Women’s Driving Reforms, Delays Implementation

On Tuesday 26 September 2017, Saudi Arabia announced that it would allow women to drive for the first time in the history of the kingdom. The policy change, which was announced over state television, will reportedly go into effect in June 2018. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on Saudi Arabia[…]

ADHRB Condemns Repeated Postponement of Nabeel Rajab’s Trial on Free Speech Charges

27 September 2017 – Today, the Bahraini judiciary once again postponed the trial of Nabeel Rajab, who authorities have arbitrarily detained since 13 June 2016. This marks 471 days of detention and more than five postponements for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights president, on charges relating to his Tweets and activism. Rajab has spent[…]

Saudi Arabia: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Online Free Expression

On Monday, 18 September 2017, Snapchat reportedly restricted content from the Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera for its users in Saudi Arabia. According to Snapchat, the move was made to comply with local laws – something the company tries to do in all countries that it operates within. However, Al Jazeera says this is an[…]

HRC36 Bahrain Intervention: Item 9 and Systematic Discrimination Against Shia in Bahrain

On 26 September, at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council, Husain Jawad Parweez delivered an oral intervention on behalf of ADHRB under the Item 9 General Debate. In his intervention, Parweez addressed concerns over Bahrain’s failure to respect its obligations under the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which calls on states to[…]