Nabeel Rajab: a Lifelong Human Rights Defender

On 13 June 2016, Bahraini authorities arrested Nabeel Rajab on grounds that he spread “false news and rumors about the internal situation in a bid to discredit Bahrain.” This arrest is the government’s latest attempt to stifle Rajab’s human rights activism. Despite its multiple attempts to jail Rajab and extinguish his activism, the Government of[…]

Bahrain Continues to Target Free Speech by Arresting Poet

On 23 July 2016, Bahraini authorities arrested Khalil al-Ismael as he was leaving the village of Diraz, where many Bahrainis are protesting the government’s revocation of Sheikh Isa Qassim’s Bahraini citizenship. Bahraini authorities charged Ismael with attending an “illegal demonstration” and reading a “political poem” out loud. Al-Ismael’s lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer, who himself is under[…]

44 NGOs to Government of Bahrain: Rights of Nazeeha Saeed and all journalists must be respected

We, the undersigned, express our deep concern with the Bahraini Public Prosecution’s decision to charge Nazeeha Saeed, correspondent for Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya and France24, with unlawfully working for international media. We consider this an undue reprisal against her as a journalist and call on Bahrain’s authorities to respect fully the right of journalists to practice[…]

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[…]

NGOs: Bahrain’s New Expansive Press Regulations a Threat to Journalists

27 July 2016 – We in the Bahraini human rights community condemn the recently expanded press restrictions in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Decree 68/2016, issued by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Al Rumaihi, constrains what little press freedom remaining in the kingdom by increasing government oversight on the dissemination of electronic media and empowering the[…]