Bahraini Authorities Continue Crackdown on Activists: More Human Rights Defenders and BCHR Members Face Reprisals

16 November 2016 – In the past few days, the Bahraini authorities have summoned at least 26 activists and human rights defenders for interrogations over charges of illegal gathering, including members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). The undersigned NGOs are deeply concerned about this sudden wave of reprisals against opposition voices and[…]

Rights groups urge 50 states: ‘Call for Nabeel Rajab’s release’

15 September 2016 – Rights groups yesterday wrote to the governments of 50 states urging them to publicly call for the release of Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, who faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment for comments he made on Twitter. Last week, Bahrain brought the new charge of “defaming the state” against him,[…]

Legal Dispatch: HRD Nabeel Rajab Illegally Detained, Must Be Released

On 13 June 2016, the Government of Bahrain arrested prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab from his home. The Government did not initially justify the arrest, but later stated that he had committed crimes against the Bahraini State in making statements over Twitter. Mr. Rajab has been incarcerated initially in East Riffa Police Station and[…]

Bahrain Extends Arbitrary Detention of BCHR’s President Nabeel Rajab, Court Postpones His Trial to 2 August

12 July 2016 – The High Criminal Court today postponed the trial of prominent Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab, President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), to 2 August 2016. The judge refused his lawyers’ request of release, thus he will remain detained pending his trial. The undersigned NGOs strongly condemn the persecution of[…]

Canadian Citizen Returns Home After Months of Arbitrary Detention in UAE

Salim Al-Aradi, a Libyan-Canadian businessman, returned to Canada after nearly two years of detention in the UAE. Emirati police arrested him while vacationing with his family in Dubai on 28 August 2014. He was forcibly disappeared and his family did not know his whereabouts until October 2014. The authorities did not give al-Aradi a reason[…]