State Department mandated to release BICI implementation report in 2017

The US Congress recently reached on deal on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriations act. Included is the Senate committee report (linked here), which mandates that the US Department of State will have to submit an updated assessment report on the Bahraini government’s implementation of the recommendations in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).[…]

A Summary of the UN Committee Against Torture’s Review of Bahrain

On 20 March and 24 March 2017, Bahrain was reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland. A Bahraini government delegation led by Assistant to the Foreign Minister, Abdulla bin Faisal bin Jabur al-Doseri, updated the UN Committee on Bahrain’s efforts to implement the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which it acceded to in[…]

US officials should seek assurances from NSA Ombudsman following reinstatement of arrest powers

In February 2017, members of the US Embassy met with the National Security Agency (NSA) Ombudsman’s Office. This is the first publicized meeting between US officials and the NSA Ombudsman since Bahraini authorities restored arresting powers to the NSA. A brief readout of the meeting stated that NSA Ombudsman received two political officers from the[…]

Bahrain’s UPR National Report: A Response with Selected Assessments – Part I

This is the first installment in ADHRB’s series assessing Bahrain’s National Report on its Universal Periodic Review implementation status.  For the second installment, click here, and for the third installment, click here. In advance of Bahrain’s third four-year cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights (UPR), the Office of the High Commissioner for[…]

18-year-old Mustafa Hamdan dies after security forces shooting

24 March 2017 – Mustafa Hamdan, 18, died this morning at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, two months after security forces shot him in head and rendered him comatose. We, the undersigned, consider Hamdan’s death an extrajudicial killing by the Bahraini Government. We condemn state violence employed against peaceful protesters, the denial of medical care, and[…]