As the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council opens in Geneva, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) emphasizes the urgent need for renewed international attention to the escalating human rights crisis in Bahrain. While global crises continue to unfold, the systematic repression of freedoms inside Bahrain must not be ignored or sidelined.
Bahrain has for years presented itself as a stable and reforming state. Yet behind this narrative lies a harsh reality: a country where civic space has been dismantled, opposition voices criminalized, and dissent brutally suppressed. The Bahraini government continues to violate its obligations under international human rights law—particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—by targeting human rights defenders, journalists, political opposition figures, and ordinary citizens exercising their basic rights.
BCHR is actively participating in the 59th Session and is hosting a side event focused on the total closure of civic space in Bahrain, the criminalization of dissent, and the urgent need for international accountability. This event brings together voices from Bahraini civil society and international allies to shine a spotlight on the ongoing crackdown.
Ongoing Violations Include:
- Freedom of Expression:
Bahrain criminalizes peaceful expression under vague and sweeping laws, including “spreading false news,” “inciting hatred against the regime,” and “insulting the King.” Citizens are routinely summoned, arrested, and prosecuted for online posts and social media activity. In 2024 and 2025 alone, dozens were detained for merely criticizing state policies, documenting religious discrimination, or reposting human rights content.
Several members of BCHR and other civil society leaders have been confirmed as targets of Pegasus spyware, revealing the Bahraini state’s use of advanced surveillance tools to monitor and intimidate activists. - Freedom of Peaceful Assembly:
Protests in Manama remain banned since 2013, and demonstrations in Shia-majority areas are met with excessive force, mass arrests, and intimidation. Children as young as 13 have been detained for participating in peaceful marches.
The right to religious assembly is also under attack. In Diraz, the government continues to restrict access to Friday prayers. Roads are blocked, residents are prevented from entering the area, and worshipers face harassment for attempting to gather. This long-standing policy of obstruction reflects a pattern of sectarian discrimination. - Press Freedom and Media Repression:
Since the forcible closure of Al-Wasat, Bahrain’s only independent newspaper, in 2017, the country has had no domestic platform for independent journalism.
Independent journalists face censorship, criminal charges, exile, and surveillance. Notably, journalist Nazeeha Saeed, tortured in 2011, was eventually forced into exile.
Bahrain now ranks among the lowest in global press freedom indexes. - Political Isolation and Erasure of Participation:
The 2018 Political Isolation Law (Law No. 25) bans former opposition leaders, political prisoners, and members of dissolved political societies from running for office or serving on boards, unions, or public institutions.
This has disenfranchised over 100,000 citizens, leaving Bahrain with a de facto one-party parliament.
Figures such as Farida Ghulam and Jalil Yousif—despite no criminal convictions—remain barred from all forms of public engagement, an unspoken but powerful form of social and political erasure. - Attacks on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs):
WHRDs are targeted with travel bans, surveillance, defamation, and threats. Many have been tracked using spyware, including Pegasus.
While some travel bans have been lifted, the long-term damage remains.
WHRDs like Ebtisam Al-Sayegh, Jalila Al-Salman, Zainab Khamis, and Enas Oun continue to face restrictions on their professional and personal lives.
BCHR’s Call to the Council
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights urges the Human Rights Council to prioritize Bahrain’s worsening human rights record and to recognize that superficial reform rhetoric must not replace genuine accountability. We urge:
- The release of all political prisoners, including prominent activists such as Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who has been imprisoned since 2011 and remains in poor health.
- An immediate end to reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors inside and outside Bahrain.
- A moratorium on the use of surveillance technologies against civil society and full transparency on the use of spyware like Pegasus.
- The repeal of the political isolation law and restoration of full political rights to all Bahraini citizens.
- An end to religious discrimination, including the full restoration of the right to congregational prayer in Diraz and other Shia-majority towns.
- A standing invitation to UN Special Procedures, especially the Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression, Peaceful Assembly, Torture, and Human Rights Defenders.
“Bahrain’s crackdown is no longer a warning sign—it is a reality. When voices are silenced, the duty of this Council is to listen louder.”
— Nedal Al-Salman, Director of BCHR and FIDH Vice President.
As this 59th session begins, we remind Member States that Bahrain’s repression is not an internal matter—it is a test of the international community’s commitment to universal rights. The credibility of this Council depends on whether it will confront injustice equally, including in countries with strategic or economic ties.
BCHR remains committed to documenting violations, supporting victims, and defending freedoms. We call on the international community to stand with us—and with the countless Bahrainis who continue to raise their voices in the face of repression