Rather than Address Shia Discrimination in Bahrain, US Officials Praise its Whitewashing Efforts

27 July 2018 – Yesterday, Bahrain announced the appointment of an Ambassador-at-Large for Peaceful Coexistence and Religious Freedom. This announcement was applauded by several United States (US) officials including State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert, who also commended Bahrain’s “welcoming environment for religious minorities and their right to worship.” Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in[…]

United Nations Human Rights Committee Releases Concluding Observations for Bahrain’s First ICCPR Review

26 July 2018 – Today, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations regarding Bahrain’s initial International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) periodic report. This marks Bahrain’s first review of compliance with treaty obligations under the ICCPR, despite ratifying the Covenant in 2006. The report comes over a decade late,[…]

US State Department’s 2017 Religious Freedom Report Highlights Systematic Discrimination in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

31 May 2018 – Two days ago, the United States (US) Department of State (DoS) published its annual International Religious Freedom Report. In it, the State Department highlights systematic, government-sanctioned religious discrimination in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, including specific targeting of the countries’ Shia Muslim communities. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)[…]

Profiles in Persecution: Mohamed Ebrahim Hasan

Mohamed Ebrahim Hasan is a 26-year-old Bahraini citizen currently being detained in Jau Prison on charges of joining a terrorist cell and forging government papers. On 13 February 2014, officers in plain clothing arrested Mohamed at the Bahrain International Airport and transferred him to the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). Upon his arrival,[…]

USCIRF Recognizes Wide-Ranging Abuse of Bahraini Shia in Tier 2 Re-Designation

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has today released its 2018 Annual Report, categorizing Bahrain as a Tier 2 country “for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the ‘systematic, ongoing, egregious’ standard for designation as a ‘country of particular concern,’ or CPC,[…]