Stories from and

Bahraini Human Rights Defender Awaits Sentence

  14 March 2015

Nabeel Rajab is scheduled to be sentenced in a case brought against him by the Bahraini government on March 15, concerning comments about ISIS that he made on Twitter. Convicted of “denigrating an official body” in tweets likening Bahrain's security apparatus to an “incubator” for ISIS fighters, Rajab was initially sentenced to six...

Human Rights Video: 2013 Year in Review

  3 February 2014

A video by WITNESS on the Human Rights Channel of YouTube wrapped up some of the most significant protests and human rights abuses of 2013. Dozens of clips shot by citizens worldwide are edited together to show efforts to withstand injustice and oppression, from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Cambodia to...

South Korean Tear Gas Being Used in Bahrain?

  29 October 2013

Bahrain interior ministry allegedly ordered 1.6 million teargas canisters to use against protesters, and South Korean company DaeKwang is believed to be one of the major suppliers. R. Elgin wrote in Marmot's Hole blog about the ironic history of tear gas– a notorious symbol of Korean government's clampdowns back in...

Iran Quake Aftershocks Reach Qatar, Bahrain

  9 April 2013

Doha News charts reactions from Qatar residents following the aftershocks of an earthquake which hit southern Iran today. The aftershocks were also felt in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where offices in high rise buildings were evacuated.

Bahrain Anti-Government Protests for Equality

  9 April 2013

From Bahrain, where the ongoing anti-government protests are portrayed in mainstream media as a Sunni/Shia sectarian clash, blogger Nader AbdulEman writes [ar]: أنا الطائفي الذي اريد حكومة منتخبة أنا الطائفي الذي ارفض التمييز وأطلب العدل والمساواة أنا الطائفي أطلب برلمان كامل الصلاحيات @NaderAbdulEmam: I am the sectarian who wants an...

MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012

  29 December 2012

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Why is the GCC Quiet about Gaza?

  17 November 2012

“Gulf countries awfully quiet about Gaza,” tweets Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell. Lebanese journalist Antoun Issa adds: @antissa: Amazing how eager GCC are to arm Arabs to fight each other, while disappearing completely when it comes to Palestine. #Gaza The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of Bahrain, Qatar,...

Six Month Jail for Insulting Bahrain King on Twitter

  1 November 2012

One of four Twitter users, detained in Bahrain and reportedly charged with insulting the country's king, was sentenced to six months in prison today. Bahraini lawyer Mohammed Abdulameer tweets [ar]: @wastilawyeR: One of those accused of insulting the King of Bahrain was sentenced by the Criminal Court to six months...

Bahrain Censors UN Website for Human Rights Session Live Stream

  18 September 2012

Human rights activist Mohammed Al Maskati, who is attending the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, tweets: @MohdMaskati: Authorities in #Bahrain put obstacles to access #UN website for live stream because of my intervention in the #HRC21 http://twitpic.com/aucktm He shares the screenshot above which shows the blocked site with...

UAE: Iranian Translators Distort Morsi's Speech

  1 September 2012

UAE-based journalist Hassan Hassan Storfies how Iranian translators distorted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi's speech, at the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Tehran, replacing Syria with Bahrain and Arab Spring with Islamic Awakening.

Bahrain: Making of a Century

  16 July 2012

Mideast Youth has launched an iPad-exclusive application that showcases revolutionary leaders and movements in the past 100 years and allows people to learn about how these revolutionaries and leaders are connected to each other. Check Making of a Century out here.

Bahrain: After Twitter

  24 June 2012

Bahraini blogger Ahmed Habib tweets [ar]: “They have completed the stage where we have become birds who tweet on Twitter. They are now in the next stage and that is to find cages … for all of us!”

Bahrain: Opposition Leader Injured in Protest

  22 June 2012

Bahrain riot police fired at a protest, injuring opposition Al Wefaq Society head Shaikh Ali Salman. Online, this video of the attack is being circulated. The society's Twitter account tweeted [ar] saying the politician was injured, along with another young man, who was hit by a sound grenade fired at...

Bahrain: Cursing Neutrality

  16 June 2012

“I think that it’s not only the killer that should be held responsible for his crime for silence isn’t any lesser of a crime, and that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality,” writes Bahraini blogger Mohammed Hassan.