Bahrain

Bahrainis have held rallies across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom to mark their eighth anniversary of the popular uprising against the ruling monarchy. Pro-democracy protesters in several cities, including the capital Manama, called for an end to human rights violations and the release of rights activists. They urged the Al Khalifah regime to relinquish power and allow the establishment of a…

The Thai foreign minister has suggested resolving the case of jailed Bahraini footballer with refugee status in Australia by sending him to a third country or his requested country of asylum instead of extraditing him to Bahrain, where he has to serve a 10-year sentence related to the uprising of 2011 against the ruling Al Khalifah regime. Don Paramudvinai said…

As Bahraini people gear up to mark the eighth anniversary of their uprising against the ruling Al Khalifah regime on February 14, the country’s main Shia opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has reaffirmed its determination to continue peaceful rallies until its demands for political reforms are met. Al-Wefaq, which has been dissolved and banned from conducting any activity…

A Bahraini refugee footballer in Thai says he does not want be sent back to his homeland, as he arrives at a court in Bagkok to fight Manama’s extradition request. Hakeem al-Araibi arrived at the criminal court on Monday to launch a formal challenge against being sent back to his country of birth, where he says he may be subjected to…

Bahrain’s top cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, visited Iran’s holy city of Mashhad after a trip to the Iraqi city of Najaf. According to Almuqawim, the institute for preserving and publishing works by the senior cleric, Sheikh Qassim arrived in Mashhad, the city that hosts the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), on Saturday. Late in December, the top cleric traveled…

  Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassim has arrived in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad after visiting the revered Iraqi city of Najaf. According to Almuqawim, the institute for preserving and publishing works by the senior cleric, Sheikh Qassim arrived in Mashhad, which serves as the spiritual capital of Iran, on Saturday. Late in December, the…

  A court in Bahrain has sentenced an anti-regime activist to death and passed life imprisonment against nearly two dozen other political dissidents as the ruling Al Khalifah regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed clampdown on pro-democracy protesters in the Persian Gulf kingdom. On Thursday, Bahrain’s Fourth High Criminal Court passed the death penalty on a Bahraini national and sentenced 23 other…

  Iran has censured a “cruel” ruling by Bahrain’s highest court that upheld a life sentence against prominent opposition figure Sheikh Ali Salman, saying the Manama regime is after stifling all critical voices in the kingdom. “Issuing a cruel verdict based on unsubstantial accusations against him (Sheikh Salman) shows that the Bahraini government, by relying on the support of some…

The European Union (EU) has censured a ruling by Bahrain’s Supreme Court to uphold a life sentence for prominent opposition figure Sheikh Ali Salman as “a further step against dissenting voices.” Bahrain’s highest court on Monday upheld life sentences issued against Sheikh Ali Salman, who is the secretary general of the now-dissolved al-Wefaq movement, and two senior al-Wefaq leaders, Sheikh Hassan Sultan…

  Amnesty International has blasted Bahrain for upholding a life sentence against prominent Shia cleric and opposition figure Sheikh Ali Salman, describing the verdict as another blow to the freedom of expression in the country. The Court of Cassation in Bahrain on Monday confirmed life imprisonment sentences against the 53-year-old Sheikh Salman, who is the secretary general of the now-dissolved…