Bahrain

On September 22, 2020, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) co-hosted an online streamed event with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) on the sideline of the 45th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). This event entitled “Bahrain must immediately release the detained HRDs and other activists” focused on the repression and reprisals faced by human rights defenders in Bahrain and on the constant violation of human rights by the government.

The September 22 event was divided into two parts. In the first part, the panelists assessed the history and the current work of Bahraini domestic civil society organizations and human rights defenders. During the presentation, the panelists covered the work of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and the history of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). The second part focused on the impunity of Bahrain’s governing elite and on how the international community can use its leverage, through legal and economic sanctions, to stop this impunity.

The events included domestic and international experts on the issue of human rights: Husain Abdulla, co-founder and executive director of ADHRB, Khalid Ibrahim, the executive director of GCHR, Devin Kenney from Amnesty international, Emilie Marietta an advocacy assistant of ADHRB and Sue Willman, a prominent UK human rights lawyer. The event was moderated by Antoine Madelin from the International Federation of for Human Rights (FIDH).

Read the full article here.

Mohamed Ahmed Abdulla Ali Abdulla Serhan was a 38 year-old teacher at the Ministry of Education in Bahrain when he was arrested in May 2013. Sentenced for 23 years, Mohamed was subjected to torture and enforced disappearance before he was unfairly tried on the basis of political charges. Mohamed is one of the five people currently in the isolation building of Jau prison, where they’re constantly subjected to torture and restricted from practicing their religious freedom.

Mohamed was arrested on 11 May 2013 by officers in civilian clothing, police forces, as well as the special Security Force Command when the entire town of Sanad was surrounded by helicopters. Mohamed was blindfolded and taken out of a building that had a number of people wanted for political cases, without a warrant.

 

Read the full report here.

On 21 September 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 45 during on interactive debate with The  Independent Expert on international order.
 

Watch the video and read the full statement here. 

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Bahrain: government led consistent attack on Human Rights Defenders

The strategic relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US is fostered by shared geopolitical and economic interests rather than homogeneous morals and values. The US-Saudi alliance was cultivated by the US’s reliance on Saudi Arabia during the Cold War and it has grown over the decades through shared regional strategic goals. Since President Obama took office in 2009, the US has sold almost $300 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia and the National Security Agency has been closely cooperating with the Saudi Ministry of Interior since 2013. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has sought to buy influence in the US by employing dozens of American lobbying and PR firms. Through these firms the Saudi government has conducted meetings and donated money to countless candidates that help support Saudi interests in DC and in US foreign policy.

Some of the most prominent of these 39 firms include Hathaway Strategies, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, McKeon Group, Squire Patton Boggs, Holland & Knight, Hogan Lovells, Hohlt Group Global and Qorvis Communications. These firms have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to various campaigns in recent years including Donald Trump for President, the Texas Republican Party, the Republican National Committee and Hoyer for Congress, to name only a few.
 

Read the full report here.

- Saudi King Salman assails Iran in United Nations debut (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz took aim at Iran during his debut on Wednesday at the annual United Nations meeting of world leaders, calling for a united front to contain Riyadh’s rival and stop it from getting weapons of mass destruction.