In efforts to dispel any criticism towards the Saudi-led coalition’s actions in Yemen, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) warned in 2015 that it would take steps against anyone expressing opinions “against the approach that Bahrain has taken.” Bahraini authorities acted on the warning when they arrested and imprisoned political leader Fadhel Abbas for posting on[…]
Following the 2011 pro-democracy protests, Bahraini authorities suspended approximately 120 athletes and sports club personnel, including twenty-seven members of national sports teams. As journalist Karim Zidan recently documented, while the Bahraini government subjected many of these athletes to torture and other forms of reprisal, it has simultaneously used sports to divert attention from such ongoing[…]
Once again, the Government of India has unilaterally taken steps to mitigate migrant labor abuses in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Indian officials have consistently enacted one-sided measures in order to ensure their citizens’ safety abroad, and GCC governments have failed to fulfill their parts. In March and April 2016, India initiated two Memoranda of[…]
6 October 2016 – Earlier this week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed an Assistant Secretary General whose special mandate involves considering and responding to reprisals against Human Rights Defenders and civil society actors who engage with the United Nations. The first expert appointed to this mandate will be Mr. Andrew Gilmore, who previously served[…]
10 October 2016 – Bahraini authorities arrested journalist and social media activist Faisal Hayyat yesterday after he was summoned over a tweet. The Public Prosecution today remanded Hayyat in custody for one week on charges of insulting a sect and a religious figure. The undersigned NGOs condemn Bahrain’s ongoing criminalization of freedom of expression and targeting[…]