Bahrain

In Bahrain, much attention is paid to the victims of torture immediately after the event, but those same victims can sometimes be forgotten when new, equally horrible treatment against equally innocent people comes to light.

Bahrain death sentences follow torture, sham trials.

According to the BCHR Annual Report, the human rights situation did not improve in 2021. The authorities are still intolerant to dissent and criticism and restrict Bahrainis’ exercise of internationally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

Ten years on, the pro-democracy movement leaders are still behind bars, the major opposition political parties are outlawed, and the only independent newspaper in the country is indefinitely suspended. The Government of Bahrain’s (GoB) crackdown on free expression is in full force, as well as attempts to intimidate its critics into silence.

This report looks into the legal status, structure, formation mechanisms, and performance of four bodies to determine their shortcomings and to explain why they have not been able to achieve a noticeable improvement in the human rights scene in Bahrain – namely, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC), the Office of the Ombudsman at the Ministry of the Interior (MOI Ombudsman), and the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR).

Drawing on first-hand witness statements by survivors of torture, the report is a comprehensive study on the specific ways and means by which torture is perpetrated in Bahrain, with a particular focus on the period since the 2011 popular movement and the violent crackdown that followed.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, celebrated on 25 November, BCHR issued this report which seeks to address the deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain, particularly concerning women.

A study on the conditions of prisons in Bahrain from 2011 to 2020, and it includes a commentary on the violated rights of prisoners, the most dangerous of which is the denial of treatment.

A report documenting human rights violations committed by the regime in 2018.

A comprehensive look at the core security agency driving Bahrain’s human rights crisis, Anatomy of a Police State is the first full study of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) police force’s integral role in the kingdom’s repression of dissent.

In its report, the Center examines Bahrain’s laws and legislation restricting the freedom of press work and shows the extent of its non-conformity with the international treaties, covenants and agreements. The report also documents violations of media workers since the popular protests beginning in 2011.

The report is based on the study of Bahraini laws and legislation related to the prosecution of civilians in military courts and shows the compatibility of Bahraini laws with the International Bill and international laws.

BCHR analyses how the Bahraini judiciary uses the language of ‘anti-terrorism’ law to justify suppressing dissent. They also do a comparative study of the relevant local and international anti-terror legislation, and the extent to which Bahrain is in line with international law, international conventions and human rights treaties.

Starting in June 2016, broadband connections were suspended from 7pm to 1am in a daily “internet curfew” in the besieged town of Diraz, home to the persecuted Shiite cleric Isa Qassim

The government issued new regulations banning news outlets from live streaming events.

A series of repressive attacks against rights and human rights defenders

An ANHRI report on the impact of the war on Yemen on freedom of expression

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and the Bahrain Institute for Right & Democracy (BIRD) analyze all the statements and resolutions of the member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), the European Parliament (EP), the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), and the UN Secretary-General since 2011 in order to track the international reaction to the deterioration of Bahrain’s human rights situation.

Through this report the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) aims to highlight cases of ongoing killings, attacks and threats against journalists and other media workers in four countries, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and makes recommendations to enhance their protection using international mechanisms including the United Nations system.

In February, authorities closed the Al-Arab television station just hours after it began operating because the outlet aired an interview with an official from the opposition group Al-Wefaq.

Bahraini national search engine proposed, would allow for easier filtering of search results by authorities

Ranked 188th in annual global media freedom report

Persistent failures of the Bahraini justice system since the BICI report

Ranked 188th in annual global media freedom report

Anti-terrorism decree allows state to strip citizenship of protestors

“No Internet spring”

“‘Blogfather’ Ali Abdel Imam flees Bahrain after two years in hiding”

Ranked 163rd in annual press freedom index

Maximum sentence for insulting the king increased from two to five years

Ranked 188th in annual global media freedom report

Documenting human rights abuses during the pro-democracy movement

“The year featured new rounds of arrests and incarcerations of human rights activists, including Nabeel Rajab and Zaynab al-Khawaja”

BCHR’s report evaluates progress made by Bahrain on human rights violations, and marks anniversary of Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Interior Minister threatens to jail “anyone posting online messages calling for demonstrations”

Following pro-democracy demonstrations, online journalist Abduljalil Alsingace sentenced to life in prison, two journalists die in detention

In one of the world’s 10 most repressive countries, local and foreign journalists were systematically hounded from February 2011 onwards

Authorities use lethal force to suppress peaceful pro-democracy protests, over 40 killed during unrest including four tortured in custody