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 the ongoing detention of prominent elderly Bahraini opposition leaders and HRDs since 2011, despite multiple UN calls for their immediate release and urgent medical care.
We draw the Council’s attention to the ongoing detention of prominent elderly Bahraini opposition leaders and human rights defenders imprisoned since 2011 for advocating democracy and human rights. They face dire conditions, including torture, reprisals, and life-threatening medical neglect, despite multiple UN calls for their immediate release and urgent medical care.
A stark example is 77-year-old prominent opposition leader Hasan Mushaima, who suffers from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney issues. Serving a life sentence in solitary confinement, he faces life-threatening medical neglect. In July 2024, he developed a nerve issue and severe knee pain, impairing hand movement and daily tasks.
Similarly, prominent Bahraini-Danish human rights defender AbdulHadi Al-Khawaja, serving a life sentence, has faced severe abuses, including torture-related injuries, prolonged solitary confinement, and systematic life-risking medical neglect that has worsened his chronic illnesses. Repeatedly resorting to hunger strikes in protest, his health has sharply declined, leaving him at high risk of fatal cardiac arrest and blindness.
We call on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all prominent elderly opposition leaders and human rights defenders.
