The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invested deeply into portraying itself as a progressive, tolerant and human rights-compliant state. This strategy, however, as in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, clashes with a reality in which activists and dissidents are detained and tried for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association. The recent unfair trial of 84 people on charges related to the activists’ establishment of an independent advocacy group in 2010 -the Justice and Dignity Committee- is the latest example of that. The charges were brought against the defe ..read more

Last week, the EU announced a relaxation of Schengen visa rules for the citizens of Saudi Arabia. No human rights compromises were made in exchange. Since democracy constitutes the best umbrella under which human rights can thrive, the next question follows: What is the current state of democracy in Saudi Arabia? In its new report on Freedom in the World 2024, Freedom House (FH) confirms, one more year, that Saudi Arabia´s low performance in each dimension accounts for a fair score of 8 out of 100. In the same vein, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) multidimensional approach continues to defi ..read more

Twin brothers Ahmed and Mahmood Mohamed Habib were 17-year-old minor students when Bahraini authorities arrested them along with some of their friends on 1 July 2015 while they were eating Suhoor during the month of Ramadan. During their detention, they were subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, sexual harassment, sectarian-based insults, and unfair trials based on confessions extracted under torture. Ahmed was sentenced to 40 years in prison, and Mahmood was sentenced to 47 years and six months in prison on politically motivated charges before being released on 8 April 2024, under a r ..read more

The undersigned organizations express their grave concern for the lives of minor defendants particularly the two young men, Yousif Al-Manasif and Ali Al-Mubaiouq, who are at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia following confirmed information that the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal (SCCA) has upheld their death sentences. Their cases were therefore referred to the Supreme Court which will render a final judgment. Approximately a year ago, the Supreme Court upheld final death sentences against Ali al-Subaiti. In addition, final death sentences had been approved by the Supreme Court ..read more

On April 4, 2024, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and 27 other human rights organizations reiterated the urge to release human rights defender Dr. Abdujalil Al-Singace immediately. The organizations wrote a letter to King Hamad bin Isa al- Khalifa and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, underlining the human rights defender’s health deterioration. The doctor is following a 1000-day liquids-only hunger strike. ADHRB has largely documented his wrongful detention and condemned the Kingdom for failing to secure adequate healthcare. At the beginning of 2023, ADHR ..read more

On Monday, April 8, 2024, Bahrain’s King issued a royal decree pardoning 1,584 prisoners  convicted of criminal and riot charges, making it the largest pardon since the  Arab Spring in 2011. This pardon was announced ahead of Eid al-Fitr,  a time when Muslims are encouraged to seek forgiveness and thus also a time when many Gulf leaders will issue their pardons. This decree may appear to be a generous gesture; however, it is necessary to speculate about the context of these pardons. This decree was allegedly done to promote principles of justice and the rule of law. Nevertheless ..read more

Since the beginning of the popular movement demanding reform and democracy in Bahrain in 2011, the government has suppressed all forms of peaceful movements by all means and without any restraint. Repression has become a prevailing approach in the country, and prisons have been filled with prisoners of conscience, political prisoners, and human rights activists. Since its inception, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) has been working to monitor and document the violations against these victims. These cases have been published in a series for seven years since 2017, e ..read more

The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) unanimously appointed Saudi Arabia to chair its 69th session in 2025. Abdulaziz Alwasil, the Saudi ambassador to the UN, was elected on March 27 to represent his country. Being chair of the CSW means that Saudi Arabia pivots the political, economic, civil, and social prerogatives of women inside the Commission. In addition, they are the leading actor with the role of highlighting pressing issues for women and girls during conflict. Various human rights advocates have criticized the controversial decision. In particular, the Amnesty International ..read more

Husain Ali Matar was an 18-year-old Bahraini citizen when he was arrested for the final time on 30 October 2022 without a warrant. He was previously arrested on 28 June 2020 when he was a 16-year-old minor student in his second year of middle school and was sentenced to three years in prison following an unfair trial. He was then released on 6 May 2022 under alternative sanctions. During both detentions, he was subjected to physical and psychological torture, enforced disappearance, communication cutoffs, forced confessions, unfair trials, deprivation of prayer, blackmail, and medical neglect ..read more

Seventy-six million metric tons of oil reserves are located in the Arab Gulf, constituting around 66% of the global reserves. Oil represents a prominent source of income in the Middle East, proven by the increased production during the last decades. From 1980, oil production passed from 11 million barrels per day to 18 million. The two biggest producers in the region are Saudi Arabia and UAE, respectively, making 39 and 14 percent of the total share. Various studies show that the industry causes significant methane emissions, contributing to global warming and other emissions that create signi ..read more