Seven Years After the 2011 Uprising, Bahrain’s Military Courts Confirm Death Sentences for Civilians

21 February 2018 – Today, Bahrain’s Military High Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of three civilians and one soldier convicted in a mass trial – “Terror Case/2017/1” – by the Military High Court on 25 December 2017. The case marks the first trial of civilians before a military tribunal in Bahrain since the 2011 National Safety[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Mohamed Ramadan & Husain Moosa

Updated: Mohamed Ramadan, a 40-year-old former security officer at the Bahrain International Airport, and Husain Ali Moosa, 37 years old, are two Bahraini citizens sentenced to death in a collective judgment in 2014. They were convicted for their alleged involvement in the Al-Dair bombing of 14 February 2014, where a group allegedly ambushed security personnel[…]

GCC Countries Enforce Legislation Criminalizing Online Expression

2 February 2018 –Kuwait recently sentenced online activist Abdullah al-Saleh to ten years in prison for Tweets “abusing Saudi Arabia” and insulting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. His sentence demonstrates how countries like Kuwait employ prison sentences as deterrents to free expression online, especially as the government imposes increasing restrictions on the freedom[…]

Bahrain Adjourns Qatar Conspiracy Trial Against Sheikh Ali Salman and Other Al Wefaq Members

On 25 January 2018, Bahraini Advocate General Osama Al Ufi announced that the High Criminal Court again adjourned the trial of Sheikh Ali Salman, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan, and Ali Mehdi Ali Al Aswad over accusations of “exchanging intelligence information with Qatar” to undermine the Al Khalifa monarchy in 2011. The next hearing is[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Sayed Hadi Ahmed

Sayed Hadi Ahmed is a minor being arbitrarily detained in Bahrain’s Dry Dock Detention Center, meant only for adult populations. He was 15 at the time of his arrest, and has been subjected to torture on multiple occasions. At midnight on 13 December 2016, Sayed Hadi was asleep at his grandfather’s home in Bani Jamra.[…]