Bahrain’s government has used its international profile to relentlessly clampdown on human rights and democracy campaigners in the country.
Prominent human rights campaigners have been subjected to detention and ongoing judicial harassment for expressing opinions. Other activists have been forced into exile or stripped of their Bahraini citizenship.
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Report
Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed
Following the fall of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, hundreds of thousands of Bahraini protesters took to the streets of Manama, the capital city, on 14 February 2011, to peacefully call for democratic reform. Officials were quick to crack down on protests, and the access of the international media was limited almost immediately after the start of the protests.
Unlike other citizens demonstrating across the Arab World in 2011, the protests in Bahrain received very little coverage, particularly considering the disproportionate number of people jailed and killed in the tiny country of 1.2 million people. Furthermore, the messages of the protesters – calling for reform, equal rights and opportunities and greater democracy – have largely been distorted by both the government and the international community which have instead focused on sectarian interpretations and regional geopolitical issues.
