Bahrain Police Raid Duraz Sit-in, Killing Five and Injuring Dozens

**Update 23 May 2017: After the publication of this statement, the Ministry of Interior has since confirmed five deaths (see here) and 286 arrested (see here) during today’s raid into Duraz. ADHRB will be working to verify the details and provide more information as it becomes available.   **Update 24 May 2017: The Bahraini Ministry of[…]

Government of Bahrain must drop charges, reinstate citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassim

19 May 2017 – Bahrain’s Fourth High Criminal Court will reconvene on Sunday, 21 May, to hold the 13th trial in the case against the country’s most prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim. The Bahraini government arbitrarily denaturalized Sheikh Isa Qassim in June 2016. The authorities are charging Sheikh Isa Qassim with alleged[…]

HRD Nabeel Rajab’s Free Expression Trials Postponed in Bahrain

17 May 2017 – Bahraini courts this week have again postponed two separate trials of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab. Both trials are based on charges that violate Rajab’s right to free expression. The Bahraini authorities have detained Rajab since June 2016 and are prosecuting him in connection with television interviews and tweets[…]

Silence as early review period ends on US jet sale to Bahrain

In late March 2017, the New York Times reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be dropping human rights conditions from a major sale of F-16 combat aircraft to the Bahraini government. The formal notification was set to have been announced last week barring any reservations from Congress. As of the publication of this[…]

Bahrain Escalates Campaign of Reprisals

16 May 2017 – In recent weeks, the Government of Bahrain has substantially escalated its campaign of reprisals against the country’s civil and political societies. So far in the month of May 2017, authorities have targeted family members of exiled human rights defenders and turned a blind eye to the violent intimidation of Bahraini activists[…]