HRC39 Written Statement: Saudi Arabia’s Ongoing Targeting of Women’s Rights Defenders

Ahead of the 39th session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Geneva, beginning on Monday 10 September, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) submitted a written statement for the record raising concerns about Saudi Arabia’s continued targeting and detention of women human rights defenders. Continue reading for the text of[…]

ADHRB Supports Canadian Calls for the Release of Detained Women’s Rights Defenders in Saudi Arabia

8 August – On Sunday 5 August, the Saudi government expelled Dennis Horak, Canada’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, ordering him to leave within 24 hours, while recalling its own ambassador from Ottawa. The decision is a response to a statement by the Canadian Foreign Ministry on 3 August expressing grave concern over Saudi Arabia’s arrest[…]

ADHRB and ESOHR Condemn Saudi Arabia’s Arrest of Samar Badawi and Naseema Alsada

1 August 2018 – On 30 July, Saudi officials arrested prominent human rights defenders and women’s rights activists Samar Badawi and Naseema Alsada. Their arrests were overseen by the Presidency of State Security, Saudi Arabia’s domestic security and intelligence service and a body complicit in numerous human rights abuses, and they signal the Saudi government[…]

A Review of the Rapporteur on Countering Terrorism’s Visit to Saudi Arabia

From 30 April to 4 May 2017, Ben Emmerson, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights while countering terrorism, undertook an official country visit to Saudi Arabia. Upon the conclusion of his visit, he criticized Saudi Arabia’s counter-terror framework as overly restrictive and vague – a mechanism that allows authorities[…]

The Saudi Government Continues its Clampdown on Rights Activists and Dissidents

5 July 2018 – In May 2018, the Saudi government arrested nearly a dozen women’s rights activists for their work promoting women’s rights, only weeks before it lifted the ban on women driving. However, the campaign against women’s rights activists has not concluded, with officials arresting prominent women’s rights activist Hatoon al-Fassi on 27 June.[…]