Mapping the Saudi State: An Introduction

*Best viewed in full screen mode Due to a lack of information, media outlets and international advocates for political reform in Saudi Arabia have often treated the various and competing bodies of the Saudi government as one uniform repressive machine. Without being able to differentiate between dissimilar agencies with divergent mandates, however, leaders are distanced[…]

Event Summary: Preventing the Next ISIS

12 February 2015 – Washington, DC – Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), with Freedom House, hosted an event on 11 February at Freedom House entitled “Preventing the Next ISIS: How the U.S. Can Work With Coalition Partners to Combat Extremism in the GCC.” Dr. Robert Herman, Vice President for Regional Programs[…]

Why Saudi Arabia Crushed the Democratic Uprising in Bahrain

During February 2011, more than 200,000 Bahraini citizens set up camp at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital of Manama to call for substantive government reform. Inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Bahrainis from all walks of life withstood government raids and political arrests during their month-long occupation of the iconic[…]

NGOs Send Letter to Saudi Minister of Interior Urging Release of Imprisoned Activists

2 February 2015 – Today, 24 international NGOs, interfaith organizations and concerned individuals sent a letter to Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia expressing concern over the ongoing detention and ill-treatment of human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair and blogger Raif Badawi. The undersigned urged Prince Mohammed bin Naif to immediately release al-Khair[…]

ADHRB Assesses King Abdullah’s Reign and Need for Reform in Saudi Arabia

January 23, 2015 – Washington, D.C. – Today, ADHRB released a report assessing the reign of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who died today after more than a decade of rule. Despite his adopted status as a reformer and peacemaker, King Abdullah’s reign was marked by deterioration in civil, political and human rights in the[…]