State Department “monitoring” continued detention of mother and baby

On 23 May 2016, a reporter raised the case of Zainab al-Khawaja and her infant son during the U.S. Department of State’s Daily Press Briefing. “She’s sick, and the family can’t get the one-year-old out of prison. Is this an issue, or is this okay with you guys?” asked one reporter. In response, the State[…]

UN Special Procedures release Joint Communications Report for HRC32

The Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council released the 14th iteration of their joint communications report on Friday, May 27, 2016, documenting allegations of human rights abuses from around the world. In the most recent edition of the report, the Special Procedures singled out Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as among the worst[…]

Zainab and son wait for Bahrain to fulfill its “humanitarian” promise

In April 2016, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa announced his government would release prominent human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja, who has been detained in Bahrain’s Isa Town Women’s prison for more than two months. Police arrested her after she had exhausted her appeals process fighting charges related solely to her free expression.[…]

Bahraini Government’s Claims of Having Implemented all BICI Recommendations is Mere Lip Service

On 9 May 2016, Bahrain celebrated the culmination of the work of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), announcing that the implementation of all recommendations had been completed. The King awarded Professor Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni a Bahrain Medal of the First Class, and state media reported that Bassiouni said the government of Bahrain had[…]

ADHRB Counters Government’s ‘Completion of BICI’

The Government of Bahrain held a ceremony on 9 May to mark the “completion of the implementation of the 26 recommendations” put forth by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) in 2011. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) is concerned that this celebration represents a disingenuous attempt to obfuscate grave ongoing[…]