Art as Protest: The Significance of the Pearl Roundabout Painting

October is National Arts & Humanities Month in the United States. As a US-based organization, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) believes this month serves as a great opportunity to highlight the important role protest art has had in the history of peaceful protest in Arab Gulf countries. With this in mind,[…]

UPDATED: Bahrain Harasses Shia Clerics Ahead of Ashura Amid Wider Attack on Religious Freedom

**Updated 07 November 2018 – Individuals detained during Ashura, including AbdulMajeed Abdulla Mohsen, have been released except for one. However, clerics continue to be targeted, with two other clerics arrested on 29 October due to their religious discourse around Ashura. **Updated 26 October 2018 – There are clerics who remain in detention since September. On 19 September, AbdulMajeed[…]

Bahrain Denies Water Cuts at Jau Prison After UN Requests Information

This past summer it was reported that water cuts had been arranged by authorities at Bahrain’s notorious Jau Prison. Prison authorities deliberately withheld water from detainees for up to four days, and often throughout the hottest days of the summer. The water cuts started on 9 July 2018, which was recorded as the second hottest[…]

Increased Engagement by the United Nations on Saudi Arabia Ahead of the UPR

*This post has been updated to reflect confirmation that ex-patriot Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a planned assassination in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.   Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record is an open secret within the international community. It is home to one of the world’s most repressive governments, especially in[…]

Art as Protest: Ms Saffaa and the Male Guardianship System in Saudi Arabia

  October is National Arts & Humanities Month in the United States. As a US-based organization, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) believes this month serves as a great opportunity to highlight the important role protest art has had in the history of peaceful protest in Arab Gulf countries. With this in[…]