On 23 May 2016, a reporter raised the case of Zainab al-Khawaja and her infant son during the U.S. Department of State’s Daily Press Briefing. “She’s sick, and the family can’t get the one-year-old out of prison. Is this an issue, or is this okay with you guys?” asked one reporter. In response, the State[…]
The Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council released the 14th iteration of their joint communications report on Friday, May 27, 2016, documenting allegations of human rights abuses from around the world. In the most recent edition of the report, the Special Procedures singled out Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as among the worst[…]
Ali Isa Ali al-Tajer is a Bahraini citizen and the brother of Mohamed al-Tajer, a prominent lawyer and human rights defender in Bahrain. Mohamed has worked with the United Nations Secretariat on several occasions, including with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Special Procedures, in support of their work[…]
The situation of human rights defenders and activists in Bahrain is precarious. Today, one of the most prominent of these activists, Zainab al-Khawaja, sits in a prison cell along with her infant son. She is sick with the flu and her family has been denied access to care for her or her child. Zainab al-Khawaja[…]
In April 2016, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa announced his government would release prominent human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja, who has been detained in Bahrain’s Isa Town Women’s prison for more than two months. Police arrested her after she had exhausted her appeals process fighting charges related solely to her free expression.[…]