Election Tracker: Bahrain Criminalizes Calling for Boycott of Upcoming Elections

As Bahrain’s parliamentary elections approach amid escalating political repression, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) will be closely monitoring all updates until the vote on 24 November 2018. This blog series, Election Tracker, will follow developments and provide context on the upcoming elections. See the previous post on election monitors accusing critics[…]

Special Procedures Publish Joint Communication Sent to Saudi Arabia on Women’s and Human Rights Defenders

From June through August 2018, United Nations (UN) Special Procedures sent five separate joint communications to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressing concerns over a myriad of human rights violations ranging from the targeting of women’s and human rights defenders, reprisals, the conflict in Yemen, arbitrary detention and more. This blog series highlights these joint[…]

Oman Detains Two Activists as Sultanate Continues to Silence Critics

In October, Oman’s Internal Security Service (ISS) detained two activists in an apparent attempt to silence them. Journalist Sultan Al-Maktoumi was detained 23 October 2018; it was presumed that he was detained to control his criticism ahead of Israel’s Prime Minister’s visit to Oman a few days later. Just a few days later, online activist[…]

Booz Allen Hamilton’s Concerning History of Support to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s recent onslaught of bad press, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and ongoing support for the war in Yemen, has stirred international concern for the Gulf state’s stance on human rights. However, despite discussions to address Saudi Arabia’s track record of rights abuses, the Gulf state has managed to maintain business relations[…]

Death of Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Kuwait Emphasizes the Dangers of Abuse for Migrant Workers

In October 2018, an Ethiopian domestic worker in Kuwait was found dead in her room after being reported missing for seven hours. Authorities suspect that she was abused and killed due to her “lack of concern for the cleanliness of the house.” This domestic worker’s death highlights a pattern of abuses against migrant workers in[…]