Bahrain, a serial human-rights abuser, has been on a rampage this month. On 21 June, a public prosecutor extended the detention of Nabeel Rajab, described by Reuters as “one of the most prominent rights activists in the Arab world,” for eight days. He faces charges of “spreading false news… in a bid to discredit Bahrain.”
A day earlier, it was announced that the country’s most prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim would be stripped of his citizenship because he had abused his position to “serve foreign interests,” and had “encouraged sectarianism and violence”.
On 14 June, the authorities issued an “expedited” ruling to close the headquarters of Bahrain’s main opposition group Al-Wefaq, seize its funds and suspend its activities. Court proceedings began on 23 June (the same day senior Shia clerics were summoned to a police station for questioning), having been brought forward from October.
On 11 June, prominent human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja told Middle East Eye that she had been forced into exile after being threatened with re-arrest and indefinite separation from her children.
Read the full article here.