The Bahraini constitution allows for public meetings, processions and gatherings, provided that they are conducted peacefully, while the law 32/2006 puts many restrictions on that liberty. For instance, the coordinators of any gathering must make a demand to the MOI at least 72 hours before the event and the MOI is not required to provide any justification for their decisions. The government has, therefore, the power to limit and control public and political gatherings by denying requests regularly. In fact, all requests for public assembly were denied from June to August 2012 and serious sentences were given to participants of illegal demonstrations. On the other hand, the Bahraini government does not apply the laws concerning public gatherings in an equal manner amongst the population. While commonly refusing opposition’s gatherings, the government tolerated some unprompted assemblies of Sunni Islamist groups. On September 9, a Sunni group gathered in front of the Ministry of Justice courthouse for several hours without being obstructed by police forces, the same location where opposition groups were either denied permission or on many occasion and if permitted, the rallies were quickly disrupt by police. Furthermore, the riot police frequently use excessive force in order to disperse peaceful gatherings in big cities such as Manama on June 22: police fired tear gas and sound grenades directly at peaceful demonstrators, injuring one civilian in the process. The opposition groups claims that between November 2011 and 2012, at least 26 protestors and spectators perished from injuries that occurred during the…

The situation in Bahrain concerning the freedom of press did not much evolve since the events of 2011. Even though the country’s constitution provides for freedom of press and expression , the government continues to limit the liberties of the Medias and civilians by using censorship, prosecution and violence. The IAA (Information Affairs Authority) has extensive control over domestic print media and the government control all domestic radio and television stations, which lead to censorship and content restrictions from the authorities. The government still apply pressure on editors to refrain them from publishing certain stories and the IAA block stories and ban books, always related to manners such as sectarianism, judiciary, criticism on the royal family and national security. The authorities also passed laws in their Penal Code that criminalize libel, slander and divulging secrets, offences that are punishable by imprisonment or by a fine. Furthermore, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Bahrain is ranks second in the world for the highest number of jailed journalists per capita for 2012. Civilians are also targeted by the authorities, where a simple statement on social platforms can lead to domestic raid, torture, prosecution and incarceration. READ MORE

Security forces continue to use deadly force on peaceful protestors during Bahrain’s uprising. Police officers are abusing their power and using unnecessary force by employing shotguns and tear gas against protestors. Four people, two of which were children died after being shot with firearms or by the impact of tear gas canisters. At least twenty other people died after being exposed to tear gas. There have been many reports stating that police forces in Bahrain have committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. A few human rights organizations in the country have added up approximately 26 deaths linked to security forces either directly or indirectly . The Al-Wifaq’s Freedom and Human Rights Department (FHRD) have reported that three people died from severe beatings, three others from birdshots, and two more from live ammunition. Also, local human rights organizations have attributed more than twenty deaths at the hands of policeman using tear gas. READ MORE

The security forces continued to indirectly and directly kill protestors in Bahrain due to excessive beatings and torture tactics. On April 21st, 2012, Salah Abbas Habib was found dead on the roof of a building after a night of protests following the second day of the Formula 1 car race. The MOI announced that Habib’s death was suspicious and an investigation was launched. Local human rights activists claim that they saw him running from police officers the night of his death. An independent surgeon performed an autopsy on the deceased and fatal injuries consistent to physical abuse. According to the Human Rights Watch 2013 report, Bahrain’s authorities looked into 122 cases where their personnel had allegedly tortured and killed peaceful protestors. In March, a civil settlement initiative was created to offer monetary compensation to the families who had lost loved ones due to illegal killings. An amount of 10 million dinars ($26.6 million) was set out to these families. On August 28, the minister of justice said that, “families of more than 35 individuals who died would be compensated and noted that the ministry had disbursed funds of one million dinars ($2.6 million) to 17 families of deceased individuals.” According to the November BICI follow-up report, 44 persons applied for compensation for death. Thirty-nine families received 2.34 million dinars ($6.2 million) in two phases. READ MORE

Over 3,000 persons were arrested since the 2011 uprising including leaders, members of political groups, human rights defenders and civilians who took part in the demonstrations. The great majority of the current detainees were mostly targeted and systematically arrested in relation with their anti-government opinions and their participation in gatherings deemed illegal. Many detainees are still incarcerated up to this day, such as the former secretary general of the Wa’ad political society, Ibrahim Sharif who was arrested for participating in a plot to overthrow the regime and was convicted to five years. The Higher Appellate Court upheld his ten years sentence in December 2012 and he is still waiting for the final decision from the Court of Cessation expected for January 2013. In many cases, the detainees claims that they were tortured, denied access to international human rights organizations and held incommunicado before trials. READ MORE

The situation for human rights defenders and activists in Bahrain did not improve since the BICI report: they are still harassed, incarcerated, prosecuted and denigrated media. Many human rights defenders are being charged with offences based on statements published on Twitter, such as Nabeel Rajab, president of the BCHR who has been repeatedly arrested and trialed for comments made on social media. More recently, in July 2012, he was sentenced to three months in prison and in August, he was convicted to three years, reduced to two years in December. In August 2012, Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations urged the government to cease harassing human rights defenders in Bahrain, the Bahraini government did not yet respond nor taking actions. In March, a civil settlement initiative was created to offer monetary compensation to the families who had lost loved ones due to illegal killings. An amount of 10 million dinars ($26.6 million) was set out to these families. On August 28, the minister of justice said that, “families of more than 35 individuals who died would be compensated and noted that the ministry had disbursed funds of one million dinars ($2.6 million) to 17 families of deceased individuals.” According to the November BICI follow-up report, 44 persons applied for compensation for death. Thirty-nine families received 2.34 million dinars ($6.2 million) in two phases. READ MORE

The Bahraini laws lay down penalties for government employees at every levels that commits corruption or uses their positions to engage in embezzlement or bribery, facing up to ten years of prison. In practice however, the authorities do not investigate and prosecute high-ranking Bahraini officers, such as officers of the MOI, NSA, or military officers who all had important roles in the 2011 events. The BICI report reported 122 cases of alleged torture and unlawful killings, and the government claims that he investigated all of them. But in fact, the officers being charged were all low-ranking officers and non-Bahraini. In September, the officer with the highest position, a Bahraini police lieutenant, received a seven-year sentence for the murder of Hani Abd al-Aziz Jumaa that occurred in March 2011. Moreover, the government’s transparency regarding international and nongovernmental investigations is deficient. If an organization is able to enter the country, the government will more than likely try to refrain them from operating freely and will not provide them with the relevant documentations in order to conduct their investigation properly. For instance, the Bahraini government repeatedly refused that representatives of international human rights organizations enter the country. Many United Nations Special Rapporteurs requested on many occasions to enter the country and conduct their inquiries in Bahrain, but the government seems to always find excuses to delay the visits of the Special Rapporteurs. READ MORE

In the events of 2012 during Bahrain’s uprising, it was found that the authorities had failed to individually investigate all allegations of torture. A mere handful of low-ranking police officers and two high-ranking officers were brought to justice relating to the torture of protesters and of detainees. There were three out of the detained officers who were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and three others who were acquitted. Bahrain’s government has taken steps towards improving the conduct of their police personnel by releasing new guidelines and educating the force on the people’s human rights. Sadly, the police officers did not change their harsh ways and continued to make illegal arrests and detain people for undetermined periods of time all the while denying them the right to a lawyer, and allegedly torturing them. For example, Hussein Abdullah Ali Mahmood al-Ali was taken without a court order on July 26th in Salmabad village. He says he was tortured with electric shocks and threatened with rape while being held incommunicado and forced to sign a confession. For months after his illegal arrest, neither his family nor lawyer knew of his whereabouts. Almost a dozen kids between the ages of 15 and 18 were taken to adult prisons and detention centers. Some were allegedly beaten and denied the right to see their families and lawyers during the first few hours of their detainment during which they were allegedly forced to sign confessions and where some were condemned to prison terms for taking part…

The laws that outlines public gatherings in Bahrain stipulates that a permit must be obtained from the MOI before the demonstration. However, the MOI has no obligation to justify his decision for giving or not the permit to allow gatherings. The Bahraini government prohibited, with a decree issued in 2013, any public gatherings in downtown Manama, but the MOI still denied over 40 permit requests for demonstrations regardless of their locations during the months of October and November. The authorities even detained many organizers of demonstrations for advertising a protest before the MOI approved the permit. Also, in July, the King amended the antiterrorism law and imposed harsher sentence to those convicted of illegal gatherings, such as large fines and the stripping of citizenship. The government also amended the juvenile law to declare that if anyone under 16 years old participate in a public gathering, his or her parents can face jail, a fine or both on the second offence. Since Manama was a prohibited location, there was many gathering in other places, which did not stop the security forces to arrests many participants and charge them with “illegal gathering with the intent to commit crimes and disturb public security”. For instance, in December, Mohammad al Maskati a human rights defender and ten other defendants were convicted to six months in prison for those charges. READ MORE

The authorities did not make any improvement in the respect of the freedom of speech, both for citizens and for journalists that wishes to express their opinions in public. The regime is still controlling media broadcasting and not allowing opposing voices to be herd at any TV channels and radio stations. The government still interferes, directly and indirectly, in the content of local newspapers, censoring many opinion columns and news media coverage and banning some content completely. On the eve of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising, the government increased the penalty for publicly insult the King, the national flag or emblem to a heavier fine and between one and seven years of imprisonment. During the year of 2013, five people were arrested for insulting the King on social media and sentenced to purge between six months and a year in prison. In September, women’s rights activist Ghada Jamsheer was arrested for the publication of several tweets about corruption in a local hospital. Many journalists continues to be prosecuted for their anti-government publications in newspapers, blogs, on television, radio, etc. The government still control the information that is published in the media, and if unwanted information comes out, the government is not afraid to press charges and prosecute any members of the press. Actually, Bahrain still holds his second rank for the highest number of jailed journalists per capita, in the world. In August, three journalists were arrested and charged for their reportage on anti-government demonstrations. Cameraman Qassim Zain…

Bahrain has continued to exert torture despite the presence of officials sent to investigate allegations of such ill-treatment of those in custody. Some of the allegations accuse the police of assault, illegal house raids, torture during interrogations, where they were held without access to their lawyers and families for several days. Among the means of torture what were recounted were severe beatings, punching, electric shocks and suspension by the limbs, rape and threats of rape, and deliberate exposure to extreme cold. Mohamed ‘Ali al-‘Oraibi says that upon his arrival into the country, he was detained and tortured for 5 days. He claims he was stripped down and interrogated in the nude, electrocuted on his genitals, suspended from his limbs and beat him with a stick, and sexually assaulted. He was released after almost 3 months, pending further investigations. He complained to the authorities but all was in vain. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights recognized nearly 200 cases between July and mid-August during which authorities falsely denied holding detainees for two to ten days. Many these prisoners complained of torture while incarcerated. “Four former detainees told Human Rights Watch that they were severely beaten, and in one case sexually assaulted, while in detention at the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) in 2013.” The constitution established by the Kingdom of Bahrain and its involvement with the United Nations Convention Against Torture forbids all methods of cruelty and suffering through the use of inflicting pain for information; it sombrely refuses and…

In March, the royal Decree 24 was issued, regulating the use of force and firearms. The police officials in Bahrain often utilized unnecessary force to scatter government protesters. They used a variety of weapons like shotguns and tear gas causing injuries and at least two deaths. A 14 year old boy named Sayed Mahmoud Sayed Mohsen was killed by security forces on May 21st, when they fired at the protestors attending a funeral march. The victim’s family claim he had shotgun pellets in his torso which could suppose that he was shot at close range. The Ministry of the Interior said it would investigate the accident or murder but did not reveal its outcome. In May, some police officers went undercover as regular passer-byers and performed night-time raids in towns around Bahrain’s motor racing circuit before the start of the Formula 1 Grand Prix Event. However, they failed to produce arrest or search warrants. Authorities will often withhold information about the people they arrest when family members try to locate their loved ones and primary questionings usually take place without the presence of a lawyer, in violation of Bahrain’s constitution and code of criminal procedure. Some of the people that were detained claimed that police officers physically and psychologically mistreated them in order to get confessions from them, even under duress. Although all the questionings and interrogations were recorded and monitored, the lawyers of the detainees say they were not given access to these tapes, even when their client was…

Though the courts did pass five death sentences during the past year withdrawing one of them by the Court of Appeal in December, murder and other political crimes remain under the death penalty. No Executions took place as of yet. However, Mahir Abbas al-Khabaz was sentenced to death on February 19 following his arrest for killing a police officer in 2013. The court established a “confession” allegedly acquired through various methods of torture as substantial evidence against him. An appeal court confirmed his death sentence and he was awaiting a final decision by the Court of Cassation at the end of the year. Several reports suggesting government security forces committing random and unlawful killings had surfaced. Shia opposition and political societal intelligence contacted al-Wifaq’s Freedom and Human Rights Department to attribute eight deaths linked to security forces, including one by brutal beatings and agonizing torment to the body, and one from exposure to tear gas. Also, linked to the same incidents, two civilians died in clashes with police according to government claims. Matters continued to exacerbate closer to nightfall when violent protesters and disgruntled civilians alike took to the streets with homemade explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, and other contrived weapons resulting in five police officers dead during the year. The rate of Injuries by police officers continued to hasten; 263 of which were minor and 5 that were considered forcibly critical. On February 23, riot police shot lobbyist and protester Abdul-aziz al-Abbar with a tear gas canister and shotgun pellets…

Even though the Bahraini government continues to deny the current incarceration of any prisoners of conscience, many human rights organizations and opposition groups confirm the opposite. Indeed, there are still many political prisoners jailed in Bahrain, the vast majority of these detainees were leaders or members of political groups, and were arrested in connection with their participation during the 2011 uprising. In January, the highest court of the country upheld the judgment of 13 opposition leaders and human rights activists who were arrested following the events of 2011 for charges that included toppling the political regime by force and conspiring with a foreign state for the purpose of toppling the regime. After being herd by two military courts and two civil courts, the Court of Cassation ruled the same conclusions as the military court: life imprisonment for seven defendants and between five and fifteen years for the other six accused. READ MORE

The Bahraini government continues to be not responsive to the views of NGOs from Bahrain or around the world. A few domestic and international human rights organizations still has problem operating freely in Bahrain. Also, on several occasions, international human rights organizations have been refused to enter into the country. In 2012, the government implemented a five-day “working week” visa for international bodies, but the majority of gatherings and incidents occurred during the weekend. The authorities can also press charges on local NGO leaders for “forming a group for the purpose of obstructing the constitution”. For instance, in May, the High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld a 15-year prison sentence for Naji Fateel, BYSHR board member for these charges. Concerning international human rights bodies, the Bahraini government allowed a visit by the Office of the UNHCHR set for April 2012. On the other hand, authorities cancelled UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez’s scheduled visit in May 2013 and did not set a new date. READ MORE

The purpose of the Bahrain National Audit Bureau is to put an end to corruption, irregularities, and any mismanagement taking place in most of the government facilities. Their 2013 report found that the government has fully or partially adopted only 72 out of the 192 recommendations. The bureau also noted that 9 government ministries failed to implement any of the recommendations cited in the prior report of 2012. Moreover, the report named the Ministry of Health as the major source of corruption and irregularities and cited the Ministry of Housing and Works as the main source of cost overruns and irregularities. However, the courts have sentenced those found guilty of embezzlement, including a citizen and a government employee for 5 years. The Bahrain Transparency Society stated that they have been making progress but that they remain concerned about the corruption in parastatal companies who have political authority and serve the state indirectly. For instance, a unit of Alcoa, a U.S. aluminum producer, admitted to paying bribes to government officials for a period of over 10 years to gain contracts to sell supplies to the Aluminum Bahrain processing plant. Public lands getting privatized continue to worry the opposition groups in Bahrain. Although there has been many cases where authorities have been jailed for accepting bribes, most of the government areas including the BDF continue to lack transparency. As for financial disclosure, the law of the land does not necessitate government officials to expose financial disclosures. Normally, the government does not give…

Every citizen that wishes to participate in a public gathering must obtain a license in order to hold the event. However, no licenses are granted for events that would happen between sunrise and sunset in a public area. When actual protests occur, the police forces always uses violence in order to disperse the groups. During the previous year, many protestors have been killed by police officers, including 14 year-old Muhammed Mohsen last April. And courts of Bahrain continues to prosecute dozens of protestors and condemned them to prison terms on charges related to their participations in public gatherings. For instance, Mohammed al-Maskati was found guilty of participating in a protest and was sentenced to six months of prison in December 2014. In July, two leaders of Al Wefaq, the main Shia party of Bahrain, Sheikh Ali Salman and Khalil al-Marzooq, were charged by the public prosecutor for violating the law on political associations after they both meet with U.S. assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor without the knowledge of the government. READ MORE

The King ratified Law 1/2014, amendment of article 214 of the Penal Code, which specifies for a maximum of seven years of prison and a fine of up to 10,000 dinars ($26,500) for any person who is convicted of offending the King, the flag or the national emblem. The government controls all the information that goes on television, radio and newspapers, and even go as far as controlling the access to certain websites that mostly have opposition’s views. Website that broadcast events, such as protests happening anywhere in Bahrain, in live stream. During 2014, four Bahraini photographers received an award while being in prison or facing charges, for crimes related to the content of their publications, which the government deemed illegal due to their critical character. Among them was Ahmed Humaindan, his ten-year sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in August and Hussain Hubail, sentenced to five years of prison in April for charges such as “incite hatred of the regime”. In fact, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights declared that nine photographers are presently jailed in Bahrain for pictures of human rights violations and protests that are then forward to NGOs around the world to expose those practices from the government. In May, The Bahrain Press Association introduced 2013 annual report, “Less Freedom, Broader Impunity,” an objective documenting report of diverse violations of freedom of expression and suppression of the media and the press in Bahrain. READ MORE

Numerous protruding political leaders were apprehended in 2011 and still remain imprisoned. Ali Salman, leader of the concentrated opposition group Al Wafeq is on trial with other prominent politicians who are also unjustly detained including leader of the Wa’ad political group, Ebrahim Sharif, who is evidently serving a five-year sentence, as well as leader of the Bahrain Teachers Association, Mahdi Abu Deeb. Abu Deeb was initially arrested and subject to an unfair trial, also, sources say that methods of torture were inflicted on his body. Not far from one another, well-known human rights defender Abdulhadi Al Khawaj faced similar adversity from Bahraini government being sentenced to life for his part in the 2011 protest. Releasing these social and political leaders could brighten the path to a more stable Bahrain. Trial observers were sent from the U.S embassy to supervise hearings involving these men. Trial observers are normally sent to higher profile cases, but in this particular case, politically connected trials in Bahrain. However, due to the U.S embassy not publicly stating afterwards whether the trials met international standards, a number of human rights defenders have raised the questions, and are awaiting a proper response. Some have read it as a ratification of the unfair criminal practice. Vice President of the Bahrain Teachers Association, was tortured, convicted, and imprisoned for crimes she did not commit. According to the Human Rights group, she claims “U.S. officials came to observe the civilian court [trial]. They take their notes and leave. I was hoping…

Fatal shootings of at least three people by Bahraini security forces indicate the abuse of authority and spiteful killings. This “us and them” approach that the Bahraini authorities has implicated is cause for serious problems to come. The courts seldom hold members of the security forces responsible for unlawfully using/abusing their authoritative positions and lethal weapons against protestors and detainees; they have yet to take action against these violations of human rights. The following deaths are all accounted to the Bahraini security forces, and the list goes; Fadhel Abbas Muslim Marhoon, who was shot and killed and said to have been a potential threat because he drove an “oncoming car” towards Bahraini security officials. The claims were that he had been shot while approaching them at a rapid pace head on. However, photographs and autopsies exhibit evidence that conflict with prior reports. The bullet wounds to the back of his head suggest that Fadhel had been shot from behind, before the possible threat could present itself. Also, in February, security forces shot and killed Abdulaziz al-Abar at a funeral procession; neurosurgeons removed shotgun pellets from his brain, but he died on May 18. In May, security forces were then also accountable for the killing of a teenage boy named Sayed Mahmood, 14, after authorities scattered and dispersed a funeral march. Three witness accounts; photos of the wound, a death certificate and a forensic pathologist’s opinion suggest that his death had been the result of unlawful use of lethal force. READ…

In July of 2013, due to the non-stop protests and higher levels of violence, King Hamad decided to apply new additions to Bahrain’s antiterrorism law. These laws are meant to impose more serious penalties on the protestors who get convicted of illegal demonstrations. For example, some of these heavy penalties include large fines and the stripping of their citizenship. Several protestors were even killed by the authorities in 2014, including 14-year-old Muhammed Mohsen in Sitra in April. He is not the only one as the government continues to aim at children by arresting them and detaining them, most of which usually include torture sessions. Bahraini courts have sentenced many violent protestors to long prison terms for illegally protesting, promoting violence, provoking authority members, and on suspicion of complicity in bomb attacks. For example, Mohammad al-Maskati was sent to prison for six months in December of 2014 for participation in a 2012 protest. READ MORE

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights have estimated through investigations and documentations the number of prisoners of conscience in Bahrain to 3,200. During the year of 2014, the Bahraini Courts sentenced over 11,000 years in prison for charges with a political motivation. The prominent human rights defenders, Nabeel Rajab, was released in May after serving a two-year sentence for his role of organizer and his participation in public gatherings in Bahrain. Only five months later, he was rearrested and faced three years of prison for Tweets concerning ISIS and his anti-government views. Another human rights activist, Maryam alKhawaja, was arrested when she tried to enter the country at the Manama airport. She was coming in Bahrain in order to visit her life sentenced father, Abdulhadi alKhawaja, the co-founder of Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). According to his lawyer, Maryam was charged with five charges that were violating her freedom of speech out of six charges in total. She was already convicted to two months of prison back in 2012 for ripping up a picture of the King. In February 2013 she was also jailed for illegal gathering and insulting police officers, but was released in February 2014. READ MORE

Many human rights activists and defenders have been arrested and prosecuted during the year. Prominent human rights activists such as Nabeel Rajab who was released in May and rearrested in October for other critical Tweets publication, and Maryam AlKhawaja who was arrested while trying to enter the country to see her imprisoned father. Moreover, in March, senior member of the BCHR Sayed Yousif Almuhafdah requested political asylum to the German authorities, which they did granted. Almuhafdah have been subject to several death threats on social media after BCHR started a campaign that exposed members of the royal family being part of serious rights abuses. The Bahraini government keep on refusing access to many international human rights organizations and bodies. For instance, Human Rights First has been denied entry to Bahrain since October 2012. Also, U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor Tom Malinowski meet in July with Al-Wefaq’s Salman and Marzooq, the authorities then required that the U.S. assistant secretary leave the country immediately. And in August, the government denied permission for Congressman James McGovern to visit Bahrain with Human Rights First. After the incident, the Ministry of Justice instructed every groups to ask the permission to the government before meeting with non-Bahraini diplomats and officials. This measure is a clear limitation of the opposition’s freedom to get outside help from international organization in their fight for freedom in their land. READ MORE

According to the BICI, the Bahraini Security forces have killed 18 protestors and detainees without validation, they advocate that authorities examine and investigate the deaths “with a view to bringing legal and disciplinary action against such individuals, including those in the chain of command, military and civilian, who are found to be responsible under international standards of ‘superior responsibility.” An investigation of court credentials conducted by Human Rights Watch showed that the justice system has failed to prosecute the guilty members of the security forces responsible for disrupting human rights violations. Authorities have only prosecuted a handful of security personnel involved in serious and extensive abuses that the BICI have recognized, concentrating solely on low-ranking officers who, in most cases, have been cleared of their acts or chastised with lenient sentences. For instance, a court sentenced a police officer of assault, even though it was widely recognized by a number of witnesses that he had shot and fatally wounded a man standing just a couple of feet away from him. It was wrapped up seemingly as if the officer did not open fire with the intent to kill but to gain control of the hectic situation. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but the sentence was later reduced to 6 months by another court. In another case, an appeals court that initially sentenced two convicted police officers of beating a detainee to death a ten year sentence was brought down to two years. The appeals court claimed that…