Country: Bahrain

Bahrain was majorly affected by the Arab uprisings that started in 2011, with a large part of the population demanding political reforms and more inclusion. Political unrest continues in the country to date, while the government suppresses criticism and systematically cracks down on peaceful activists and political opponents.

The rights to freedom of opinion and expression as well as peaceful assembly and association are severely curbed by the Anti-Terrorism Law, the Press Law and certain provisions of the Penal Code. Individuals making use of these rights often fall victim to campaigns of harassment and intimidation, which take the form of arbitrary arrests, trumped-up charges, the stripping of citizenship, and the use of travel bans as a form of reprisal.

The practice of torture continues to be practised systematically by law enforcement officials falling under the authority of the Ministry of Interior, and is used both during interrogation to extract incriminating confessions, and as form of punishment in detention. No independent investigations into allegations of torture are being conducted, and perpetrators of torture go unpunished.

Bahrain: Universal Periodic Review – Midterm Assessment

UN report concerned over ineffective national human rights institutions in Bahrain, Egypt, and Iraq

MENA Rights Group welcomes the conclusions and recommendations made by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to downgrade the national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of Egypt and Iraq to status B, and to maintain the status B of the Bahraini NHRI. These recommendations echo our concerns over the three […]

UN Secretary-General’s 2024 report highlights reprisals against human rights defenders in the MENA

MENA Rights Group provides a summary of the UNSG’s main concerns over reprisals against human rights defenders in the MENA region, particularly in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.

Bahrain: Joint Letter on Human Rights Priorities to All Member States of the United Nations General Assembly

On the occasion of the UN’s 79th session, MENA Rights Group joined 28 civil society organisations in urging UN Member States to advocate for the release of human rights defenders opposition leaders, death row inmates, and all those who remain unfairly imprisoned in Bahrain during the high-level General Debate.

Bahrain: NGOs call on the National Institution for Human Rights to improve its independence, effectiveness and to engage with independent civil society to better fulfill its mandate

MENA Rights Group, Salam for Democracy and Human Rightsand the Bahrain Human Rights Society call on the Government of Bahrain and Bahrain’s National Institution for Human Rights (NIHRB) to increase the effectiveness of the NIHRB’s mandate and its independence from other branches (of government) and to improve the character of the NIHRB’s leadership for its accreditation […]

Bahrain: joint letter on human rights situation to Member and Observer States of the UN Human Rights Council

MENA Rights Group joins 30+ organisations in raising concerns over the human rights situation in Bahrain to Member and Observer States of the UN Human Rights Council ahead of its 56th session. In this joint letter, we highlight the continued arbitrary detention of human rights defenders in Bahrain and call on authorities to release them.

The detrimental impact of administrative counter-terrorism measures on human rights in the MENA

This briefing paper analyses how MENA states impose counter-terrorism related administrative measures, including their legal framework and the entities responsible for imposing them, and examines the impact of these measures on human rights in MENA countries through case studies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Algeria, Israel/Palestine, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Release Dr Abduljalil al-Singace: Joint Letter to Bahraini authorities marking 1000 days of hunger strike

MENA Rights Group joins 25+ civil society organisations in urging Bahraini authorities to release and provide adequate healthcare to human rights defender Dr Abduljalil al-Singace, who marks 1,000 days on a liquids-only hunger strike on April 3, 2024.

Rights groups letter to F1 CEO ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix: 20 years of sportswashing

Copy to: Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Teams, Drivers and Sponsors 26 February 2024 Dear Stefano Domenicali, We, the undersigned organisations, are writing to renew our concerns about Bahrain’s use of the F1 Grand Prix to “sportswash” the country’s dire human rights record. As you mark two decades of racing in Bahrain, and amid […]

Bahrain and Egypt’s National Human Rights Institutions raise concerns at the UN

MENA Rights Group welcomes the Sub-Committee on Accreditation’s decision to defer the review of Bahrain and Egypt’s National Human Rights Institutions, which cited their lack of compliance with the Paris Principles.