Bahrain continued to suppress the rights to freedom of expression and association, including through arbitrary detention and travel bans. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly was not fully respected; peaceful and violent demonstrators were grouped together in unfair trials which relied on non-credible evidence including “confessions” taken from children.
Background
Bahrain released 2,586 prisoners, including more than 750 people detained for political reasons, according to Shia opposition groups, in three royal pardons on 8 April, 15 June and 4 September. The 8 April pardon included human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Naji Fateel. However, other prominent human rights defenders including Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Abduljalil Al-Singace remained arbitrarily detained.
Freedom of expression
Bahrain continued to conduct arrests and prosecutions of government critics. On 5 May, authorities began a criminal trial against human rights activist Ali al-Hajee for peacefully protesting against an arbitrary travel ban imposed on him after his release from prison in 2023.1 He had been released after serving a 10-year sentence for his involvement in peaceful protests. He was acquitted on 29 May and the travel ban was lifted in August.
Authorities continued the criminal investigation, begun in November 2023, of Jasim Hussein Al Abbas, based on a blog post he wrote about Bahrain’s conversion to Islam. Authorities held him under an arbitrary travel ban throughout the year on the accusation of “circulating wrong historical information”. Despite his repeated inquiries, the authorities would not disclose to him which government agency was responsible for imposing the travel ban or how he could contest it.
On 25 March, authorities detained Ebrahim Sharif, a leader of the outlawed opposition party Wa‘d, for social media posts in which he criticized the government for investing national revenues in McLaren Automotive company rather than public housing. He was released on 28 March but the authorities did not formally drop the criminal investigation, allowing them the discretion to bring future charges in the case. This was the second time in less than a year that the authorities had detained Ebrahim Sharif for his political expression online.
On 30 July the Ministry of the Interior and Office of Public Prosecution detained Hasan al-Hayeki, Jamsheer Fairouz, Husain ‘Id, Sayed Mohamed al-‘Alawi and Saleh Sahwan for organizing a gathering on the night of 16 July at which people chanted: “We demand the release of the prisoners!” and other political slogans. Hasan al-Hayeki was released on 3 September. The others were released on 22 September.
Arbitrary deprivation of nationality
On 10 July the Court of Cassation stripped Mohamed Rafeeq al-Husaini, the representative of al-Muharraq Governorate’s First Electoral District, of his membership of the Council of Representatives, the elected house of Bahrain’s parliament, on the grounds that he held Pakistani as well as Bahraini nationality. Pakistan does not recognize Mohamed Rafeeq al-Husaini as a Pakistani national, and he had lived in Bahrain with Bahraini nationality for decades. In August the Court of Cassation stripped Mohamed Rafeeq al-Husaini of his Bahraini nationality and the executive authorities deported him to Pakistan. The government acted against him after he called on 30 April for the release from prison of Ali Salman, the leader of the outlawed opposition party al-Wefaq. Ali Salman is serving a life sentence because of his political activities; Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience.
Freedom of peaceful assembly
The authorities continued to arrest, prosecute and imprison peaceful demonstrators and bystanders in unfair trials. On 25 March, seven defendants were convicted for participating in a pro-Palestine protest in the village of Sanabis on 2 November 2023. The court handed down prison sentences to all seven defendants in the absence of any credible evidence that they had committed an internationally recognized criminal offence (see below).
Despite the large-scale pardon and release of prisoners, Bahrain continued to arbitrarily detain 10 leaders of mass anti-government protests that took place in 2011, including activists and prisoners of conscience. The 10 men, who were convicted before a military court on charges including “setting up terror groups to topple the regime and change the constitution”, had their convictions and sentences upheld on appeal in September 2012.
Unfair trials
Criminal cases continued to be prosecuted through procedures that often violated the right to a fair trial. In cases where violence was allegedly used against police during street demonstrations, defendants were typically tried in groups resulting in group verdicts, undermining the right to a determination of individual criminal liability.
In February and March, for example, a court tried three adults and three children in one proceeding on charges of participating in a pro-Palestine demonstration in the village of Karzakkan on 17 November 2023 where some protesters engaged in violence against the police and some remained peaceful. In the separate trial of seven defendants in connection with the pro-Palestine protest in Sanabis on 2 November 2023, the only evidence used to convict them consisted of statements from officers of the Ministry of the Interior and the claim that five of the defendants had “confessed” under interrogation. Four of the five “confessions” were from children, including two 15-year-olds.
Detainees’ rights
Authorities responded to long-term sit-in protests by inmates at Jaw prison, which began in March, by restricting the protesters’ telephone calls and visits and by cutting off electricity to their buildings. This included cutting off detainees’ air conditioning during summer temperatures of 44 to 46°C.
As in previous years, prisoners and their families were routinely denied access to their medical records.
Right to a healthy environment
During COP29 in November, Bahrain’s oil minister announced the country’s commitment to reducing emissions by 30% by the year 2035 and achieving net zero by 2060. However, in February, Bahrain had sought a USD 500 million loan to expand oil and gas production by 400 new oil wells and 30 gas wells.
