Oman Increases its Restriction on Freedom of Expression

Oman jailed two social media users this month for posts they made on Facebook and Twitter. First, an Omani court sentenced Hassan al-Basham, a former diplomat, to three months in prison on charges of “insulting God and the country’s leader,” Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said. The charges are related to a series of posts on[…]

Fact vs Myth: Sheikh Nimr’s Execution

After the Government of Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on 2 January 2016, it made several statements in an attempt to justify the mass execution and quell international criticism. In these statements, Saudi Arabia claimed that all executions resulted from fair judicial proceedings that strictly followed the Saudi legal process. However, the government’s claims contained[…]

Saudi Highlights from the UN Special Procedures Joint Communications Report

The Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council released the 13th iteration of their joint communications report on 25 February 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 offenders[…]

Bahrain Court Sentences Ebrahim Sharif to 1 Year for Peaceful Speech

24 February 2016 – Bahrain’s fourth criminal court today sentenced leading opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif to one year in prison for allegedly “inciting hatred against the regime”. We, the undersigned NGOs, strongly condemn the sentencing of Ebrahim Sharif today, which represents yet another example of Bahrain’s criminalization of free speech. We call for Sharif’s unconditional[…]

February 14th Anniversary Round-up

Voices from the Ground: February 14th As part of ADHRB’s Voices from the Ground interview series, we spoke with Bahraini human rights activists about their experiences during the country’s peaceful uprising and the historical significance of the protests at the Pearl Roundabout. According to one activist, the protests represented “a quantum leap for Bahrain. Following 14[…]