Saudi Arabia Grants Citizenship to a Robot, Drawing Attention to Enduring Gender Inequalities

In late October, Saudi Arabia granted a robot, called Sophia, citizenship, making it the first robot in the world to officially become the citizen of a state. However, the decision to grant Sophia the privileges of a Saudi national has engendered sharp criticism concerning the kingdom’s treatment of women, in particular the continued imposition of[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Elyas AlMulla

Elyas AlMulla is a Bahraini citizen who was arrested, tortured to extract a confession, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. AlMulla remains in Jau Prison despite severe health problems caused by cancer and exacerbated by prison authorities’ denial of consistent access to necessary medical care. Security forces arrested AlMulla from his home on 11[…]

Bahrain Abruptly Reschedules Nabeel Rajab’s Twitter Case to 7 December

Following the Bahraini government’s abrupt decision to advance Nabeel Rajab’s most recent hearing from 31 December 2017 to 5 December 2017, the court has now adjourned the case to Thursday, 7 December. One of Bahrain’s most prominent human rights defenders, Rajab faces up to 15 years in prison for charges stemming from tweets in which[…]

On “Bahraini Women’s Day,” ADHRB stands with Bahrain’s WHRDs

Today, 1 December, is “Bahraini Women’s Day,” a holiday set by the government to honor women’s “contributions in accelerating the national development wheel in the various fields and levels.” Though a positive rhetorical sentiment, the authorities have continued to target Bahraini women human rights defenders (WHRDs) with arbitrary detention, travel bans, torture, exile, and other[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Ebrahim Marhoon

Ebrahim Marhoon was a student at the University of Bahrain until his arrest in November 2013. He was disappeared, tortured, stripped of his nationality, and denied medical care by the Bahraini authorities. The government is currently holding him in Jau Prison, Bahrain’s main long-term detention facility which is notorious for poor living conditions. Marhoon was[…]