HRW report says laws are marginalising Bahrain opposition
Al JazeeraHuman Rights Watch says laws are used to keep the opposition from running for office or even serving on the boards of civic organisations. The Bahraini government is using its “political isolation laws” and a series of other tactics to keep the opposition out of public office and other aspects of public life, according to a report by NGO Human Rights Watch. Monday’s report documents the alleged use of Bahrain’s 2018 laws to keep political opponents from running for parliament seats or even serving on the boards of governors of civic organisations, calling the practices “targeted marginalisation of opposition figures from social, political, civil, and economic life”. “Bahrain has spent the last decade cracking down on peaceful opposition and the political isolation laws are yet another example of the government’s repression expanding into new spheres,” said Joey Shea, Middle East and North Africa researcher with the rights group, which is based in the United States. The final clause of the political isolation laws, concerning individuals who have “disrupted” constitutional life in Bahrain, has been interpreted by Bahraini lawyers and civil society to prevent former MPs and others from running for office again, Human Rights Watch said.
History of this topic
Foreign Office accused of blocking British citizenship for prominent Bahrain human rights activist
The Independent
Legislators urged to raise Bahrain human rights at int’l assembly
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Rights group, UN experts express concern over Bahrain arrests
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Torture leaves Bahrain inmates with long-lasting ‘wounds’: Report
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US rights group calls for ‘free and fair’ elections in Bahrain
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Government tolerates human rights abuses for trade with Bahrain – SNP
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US senators urge State Dept to confront Bahrain’s ‘repression’
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Bahrain court upholds death sentence against two men in 2014 case
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Rights groups call for access to Saudi detainees
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