Profiles in Persecution: Sayed Hashem Alawi

Sayed Hashem Alawi is a 22-year-old student at the University of Bahrain. He was arrested and tortured by authorities and subjected to an unfair trial. Sayed was the first defendant of 14 in the “February 14 Coalition” cases, referring to a largely informal online group which the Bahraini government has designated a terrorist organization. He[…]

Analysis: Bahrain’s Insufficient Response to the Allegation Letter Published by UN Experts on Human Rights Violations

Find our previous statement on the allegation letter sent to Bahrain on Human Rights Violations in the Mass Trial of the Zulfiqar Brigades here. On 5 November 2018, five UN experts sent an allegation letter to the Kingdom of Bahrain to address the human rights violations in connection to the mass trial of the “Zulfiqar[…]

Proposed Rights Restrictions on US Arm Sales could affect Saudi and Emirati Action in Yemen

On 25 March 2019, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Dick Durbin (D-lL) introduced a bi-partisan bill (S.854) that would halt US arm sales to countries that “engage in human rights abuses, commit war crimes, or have ties to extremist groups.” If passed, this bill would significantly impact the trajectory of the war in Yemen, a[…]

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar: human rights violations, workers exploitation and corruption

In December 2010, Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup. This is the first time in history that an Arab country will host the Cup– the world’s premier sporting event. In order to prepare for it, Qatar is spending an estimated US$100 billion to shore up existing infrastructure and build new infrastructure, including airport, roads,[…]

Bahrain’s Hidden Economy

“A distinctive characteristic of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates: is the prevalence of the rentier economy.” (Bahgat, 1995) Ever since the discovery of vast reserves of natural resource wealth in the Gulf, the spotlight of the world has shifted towards the East, where new[…]