On March 27, 2025, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa granted amnesty to 630 inmates. The royal pardon followed a series of pardons that were granted in 2024 to over 2,500 prisoners, including more than 800 prisoners held unjustly for political participation and peaceful free expression. Yet Bahraini authorities continued detaining prominent human rights defenders and political leaders, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Hassan Mushaima, Dr. Abduljalil al-Singace, and Sheikh Ali Salman. In November 2025, authorities detained Ebrahim Sharif for the 10th time since 2011. Twelve death row inmates also remain at imminent risk of execution. Detainees faced brutal treatment from Bahraini authorities, including torture and denial of medical care.

Closure of Political Space, Freedom of Association, Expression, and Peaceful Assembly

Members of Bahrain’s political opposition, human rights defenders, and journalists are still imprisoned for their roles in the 2011 pro-democracy protests, as well as for activism and work in recent years. Bahrain authorities excluded them from the royal pardons.

Bahraini elections are neither free nor fair, and authorities systematically exclude and repress opposition voices. The Bahraini government has continued imposing restrictions on free expression, association, and assembly, in violation of Bahrain’s international human rights obligations. The Bahrain Press Association (BPA), a London-based organization dedicated to defending Bahraini journalists, documented 37 violations against activists, writers, and online users during the first six months of 2025.

On May 8, 2025, the Bahraini Parliament voted to pass amendments to the press law and referred it to the Shura Council. The Committee to Protect Journalists, in a joint statement with other rights groups, rejected the proposed amendments and stated that they risk further repression of the press and freedom of expression in Bahrain.

In April 2025, coinciding with the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix event, authorities detained 22 individuals. Some were detained following security summonses, while others were taken in raids on their home, workplace, or in public spaces, according to Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), which confirmed that five were released and 17 remain in custody.

In July 2025, during the religious commemoration of Ashura, Bahraini authorities launched a campaign of arrests and summonses marked by security forces’ “unjustified use of violence” that targeted 60 citizens.

Detainees faced brutal treatment from Bahraini authorities, including torture and denial of medical care. In a a joint letter on May 12 to the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch and other groups called on council members to urge the Bahraini government to include human rights defenders and leading opposition activists in upcoming royal pardons, as well as commute all outstanding death sentences and establish an official moratorium on executions.

Bahrain’s “political isolation laws,” introduced in 2018, barred former members of the country’s opposition parties from running for parliament or sitting on boards of governors of civil society organizations. These laws also target former prisoners, including those detained due to their political work. Those affected by these laws also routinely experience delays and denials when applying for “Good Conduct Certificates,” which Bahraini citizens and residents need in order to apply for employment, university admission, or even to join a sports or social club.

Children’s Rights

Bahraini authorities continued to hold children in detention. Authorities have sentenced children to up to 40 years in prison, in addition to fines, on charges of protesting and disturbing public security, and burning cars and setting fires, among other charges. Authorities have also subjected these children to ill-treatment in detention.

The Rights of Women and Girls

Women are required to obey their husbands and not leave home without a “legitimate excuse,” under Bahrain's Unified 2017 Family Law. Women and girls can lose their rights to spousal maintenance (nafaqa) from their husbands if deemed disobedient or recalcitrant by a court. Bahraini family law (article 20) allows marriage of girls at age of 16 and even younger, if a Sharia court grants permission.

A woman also cannot act as her child’s guardian, even if her child’s father has passed away or following a divorce in which a court orders that her child reside primarily with her. The 1963 Citizenship Act prohibits women and girls from passing on their nationality to their children if they have a non-Bahraini father. Women face difficulty obtaining passports for their children, particularly when the child’s father is abroad.

Migrant Workers’ Rights

Bahrain continues to enforce the kafala (sponsorship) system that ties migrant workers’ visas to their employers, meaning if they leave their employer without their employer’s consent, they lose their residency status and can face arrest, fines, and deportation for “absconding.”

Bahrain’s Labor Law excludes domestic workers, most of whom are women, from key protections, such as weekly rest days, overtime, paid sick leave, and limits on working hours. Bahrain only requires a minimum wage for Bahraini nationals in the public sector and domestic workers are still not included in the Wage Protection System (WPS), which requires workers to receive their wages through bank accounts as a measure to address payment delays, non-payment and underpayment. Among private sector workers, unpaid wages remain a problem despite WPS.

Since March 2024, Bahrain's General Authority for the Social Insurance Organization started collecting end-of-service contributions from employers to disburse to migrant workers instead of employers directly paying a lump-sum amount to workers upon the end of contracts. While a positive step that could address the non-payment of end-of-service benefits, the real test is in its effective implementation.

The 2024 Bahraini Cabinet decision to extend summer midday bans from two months to three months starting 2025 brings Bahrain’s midday ban policy on par with its peers in the Gulf Cooperation Council, but remains insufficient to effectively protect workers from extreme heat-related health harms.

Online Surveillance and Censorship

Bahraini authorities continued to block websites and forced the removal of online content, particularly social media posts criticizing the government. While social media remains a key space for activism and dissent, self-censorship is high due to the fear of online surveillance and intimidation from authorities.

On March 1, Bahraini authorities detained Ali Al Hajee, a human rights defender, in connection with his comments on social media. Human Rights Watch, in a joint statement with 23 human rights groups, called on the Bahraini authorities to free Ali Al Hajee. Al Hajee was conditionally released on March 10 under a residence guarantee, and his case remains under investigation according to Frontline Defenders.

International Developments

Governments continue to prioritize trade and other strategic interests with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which includes Bahrain, without proper regard for human rights. The forthcoming Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and the GCC excludes explicit human rights protections and commitments, including for migrant workers. On September 1, 2025, Human Rights Watch, along with 13 human rights groups, signed a joint statement expressing concerns regarding the agreement . The statement emphasized the lack of transparency and rights protections in the agreement. Human Rights Watch and the other signatory organizations stated that “An agreement without explicit rights protections heightens the risks that UK businesses would become complicit in grave human rights abuses.”