On March 17, 2025, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) delivered an intervention during the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. During the Agenda Item 3 General Debate, ADHRB highlighted Bahrain’s continued detention of political prisoners convicted on terrorism charges after their confessions were extracted under torture.
We draw the Council’s attention to the ongoing detention of Bahraini political prisoners, many jailed since the 2011 pro-democracy movement. Convicted of terrorism in unfair trials after forced confessions extracted under torture, they have faced systematic human rights violations from interrogation to their continued imprisonment.
One such case is human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, arbitrarily detained since 2011 and sentenced to life. He has endured relentless abuse, including severe beatings that left permanent injuries, prolonged solitary confinement, and systematic medical neglect, worsening his chronic illnesses. Repeatedly resorting to hunger strikes to protest his treatment, his health has severely deteriorated. Yet, Bahraini authorities still deny him urgent medical care, placing his life at grave risk.
Another case is Ebrahim Yusuf AlSamahiji, arbitrarily arrested for political reasons in 2015 and sentenced to life. Convicted on terrorism charges after an unfair trial based on forced confessions extracted under torture, he has endured ill-treatment, isolation, and medical neglect.
We urge the Council to demand Bahrain’s immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, ensure independent investigations into these abuses, and hold Bahraini authorities accountable.
