Special Procedures Sent Joint Communication to Saudi Arabia on Jamal Khashoggi

Throughout October 2018, United Nations (UN) Special Procedures sent three separate joint communications to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressing concerns over a myriad of human rights violations, ranging from the targeting of human rights defenders to extrajudicial executions for protest-related offenses committed by minors to arbitrary arrests and detentions. This blog series highlights these[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Ali Ateya Ali

Ali Ateya Ali was employed in a mosque before his arbitrary arrest this year. He was beaten by Special Security Force Command (SSFC) officers, and has been denied access to legal counsel during his trial. He also suffers from a medical condition and is not receiving adequate care while detained. On 14 August 2018, while[…]

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Calls on Bahrain to Make Parliamentary Elections Free and Fair

06 November 2018 – Today, Representative Jim McGovern and Representative Randy Hultgren, the co-chairs of the Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, publicized a letter they sent last week asking Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to “take all necessary steps to ensure that the upcoming elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Abdulwahab Husain Ismaeel

Abdulwahab Husain Ismaeel is a 64-year old Bahraini national from the town of Nuwaidrat. He is one of the “Bahrain Thirteen”- a group of thirteen religious leaders, political opposition leaders, and human rights defenders who led non-violent pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in February 2011. He is currently in Jau Prison where he is serving a[…]

Bahraini Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab Recognized as a Finalist for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

On 8 October 2018, Nabeel Rajab was recognized as a shortlisted finalist for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. This prestigious prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Václav Havel Library, and the Charta 77 Foundation to honor outstanding civil society action in the defense of human[…]