Boris Johnson Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH 3 February 2017 Dear Mr Johnson, In light of recent developments in Bahrain, we write to raise our deep concern over the punitive trials of prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, who is being prosecuted in three[…]
On Monday, 16 January 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) State Security Apparatus arrested prominent political science professor Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, detaining him for ten days before his release on Thursday, 26 January 2017. It is suspected that UAE authorities arrested him over tweets he made about free expression in the UAE. At the time[…]
The Government of Kuwait executed seven prisoners by hanging on 25 January 2017. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah authorized the executions, which took place at the country’s central prison. Kuwait’s hangings come on the heels of recent executions in Bahrain and signal another disappointing move away from death penalty moratoria in the region. Those[…]
**Update: Confidential sources report that Saudi authorities have begun to destroy homes in the area surrounding the al-Masora neighborhood. Saudi authorities have also cut off electricity in al-Masora in an effort to force residents to leave. The government has banned power companies and aid organizations from providing residents with any assistance. ———————————- On 31 December[…]
26 January 2017 – In the early hours of 26 January 2017, Bahraini security forces fired live ammunition at protesters in Diraz, Bahrain. The security forces shot 18-year-old Mustafa Ahmed Hamdan in the head; he is currently receiving urgent medical care at Salmaniya Medical Center. Hamdan is in critical condition. We, the undersigned organizations, are[…]