Despite UNIDO award, women’s rights may be trending down in Bahrain

On 22 November 2016, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was presented the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Award. The award recognizes Bahrain’s role in developing economic opportunities for empowering women and youth. The Bahrain Model for Economic Empowerment, an initiative started through UNIDO and the Bahraini government’s partnership, is reportedly being replicated in[…]

ADHRB welcomes release of Ghada Jamsheer but calls for remaining sentence to be commuted

On 12 December 2016, Bahraini human rights defender Ghada Jamsheer was released from prison following four months in detention. Bahraini officials arrested Jamsheer and imprisoned her for charges related to tweets she made highlighting corruption in a Bahraini-run government hospital. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights (ADHRB) welcomes the release of Ghada Jamsheer but notes[…]

Bahrain Solidarity Day

15 December 2016 – This past year the Government of Bahrain drastically increased its suppression of Bahraini civil and political society. Today, Bahraini human rights organizations stand in solidarity with the people of Bahrain in the face of systematic human rights abuses in proclaiming the first Bahrain Solidarity Day. In 2011, hundreds of thousands of[…]

Prisoner Profile: Jaffer Demistani

**Update: On 16 May 2018, Jaffer Demistani was released from custody after the government reduced his seven-year sentence. On the night of 22 March 2014, an unmarked civilian pickup truck chased Jaffer Ebrahim Demistani. A group of officers from the Bahraini Ministry of Interior (MoI) stopped Jaffer and arrested him without presenting a warrant. The officers[…]

Bahrain’s “Butcher” of Human Rights Sits on Saudi Yemen Accountability Panel

Saudi Arabia has appointed Bahraini judge Mansour al-Mansour to advise the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT). The JIAT is the coalition’s investigatory and accountability body tasked with reviewing alleged human rights abuses, including attacks on civilians. Mansour al-Mansour, now poised to issue verdicts on alleged human rights violations in Yemen, previously[…]