HRC40 Written Statement: The Targeting of Human Rights Defenders in the GCC

Ahead of the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain submitted a written statement to the Council raising serious concern over the targeting of Human Rights Defenders in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Continue reading for the text of the statement or click here for a PDF.[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Sayed Mohamed Alawi

Sayed Mohamed Alawi is a 14-year-old child arbitrarily detained in Bahrain’s Juvenile Detention Center. Bahraini authorities held him incommunicado for several hours and denied him a fair trial, sentencing him to up to a year in prison simply for participating in a peaceful protest. On 12 November 2018, Bahraini police contacted Sayed Mohamed’s father and,[…]

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Releases Concluding Observations for Bahrain’s Review

7 February 2019 – Today, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) published its concluding observations on Bahrain’s recent review before the Committee. This was Bahrain’s first review before the CRC since 2011. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) submitted a shadow report to the Committee with[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Zahra Salman Hasan (“Zahra AlShaikh”)

Zahra Salman Hasan, better known as Zahra AlShaikh, is a 28-year-old mother, human rights defender, and Bahraini citizen who fled her home country after enduring years of threats, harassment, imprisonment, and torture in relation to her activism. In 2012, Bahraini officers from the Special Security Force Command (SSFC) arrested Zahra during a peaceful sit-in and[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Osama Nezar AlSagheer

Osama Nezar AlSagheer is a 20-year-old Bahraini student who was most recently arrested in 2017 during the suppression of peaceful protests in Duraz, which concerned the denaturalization of Shia religious figure Sheikh Isa Qassim. The sit-in around Sheikh Isa Qassim’s home in Duraz began on 20 June 2016, and the Bahraini authorities’ violent dispersion of[…]