The health of the detained former MP Sheikh Hasan Isa has reportedly deteriorated as he enters his fifth day of hunger strike to protest ill-treatment at Jaw Central Prison.

Human Rights Watch condemned in a statement today the Bahraini authorities' arrest of "four people over social media posts in early March 2023," noting that "one of those arrested had called for reform of Bahrain's parliamentary system ahead of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Manama."

Jaw prison administration cancelled on Sunday, March 12, 2023, the scheduled medial appointments of Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Miqdad and Sheikh Mirza Al-Mahrous because they refused to be handcuffed, the director of the Bahrain Center for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said his country would welcome restoring ties with Bahrain, following a recent China-brokered deal between Tehran and Riyadh.

MP Søren Søndergaard, chairman of the Danish parliamentarian delegation to the inter-parliamentary union conference, currently held in Manama, demanded Bahrain to release prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

Forcibly exiled Bahraini MPs called on Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary-General Martin Chungong to demand Bahrain, which is currently hosting the IPU 146th General Assembly, to release all political prisoners, on top Al-Wefaq Secretary-General and former MP Sheikh Ali Salman as well as former MP Sheikh Hasan Isa.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday (March 12, 2023) that the agreement with Iran confirms the common desire to resolve differences, noting that he is willing to meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian soon. He added that his country is forging ahead in the path of de-escalation.

The IPU, which groups parliaments around the world and aims to promote democracy and human rights, said it was "aware" that Bahrain revoked entry visas issued to Human Rights Watch. A spokesperson said the IPU did not know of any other delegations that had had restrictions imposed on them to attend the meeting.

We call on you, parliamentarians, to: be with us, not against us.

Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting executive director, published a series of tweets through which she condemned Bahrain over its human rights record and the visa cancellation of two Human Rights representatives, who were intending to attend the inter-parliamentary 146th assembly.

The Bahrain Press Association (BPA) condemned the authorities' arrest of 4 citizens who are active on social media outlets, including lawyer Ibrahim Al-Mannai, Kassim Al-Hujairi, Ali Hassan and Ibrahim Khalil, coinciding with the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly in Manama.

When Pope Francis visited Bahrain last November, he clearly spoke about the human rights situation in the country. He was brave enough to speak in front of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Is the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Duarte Pacheco as courageous as the Pope?

Bahrain has condemned the terrorist attack that took place yesterday in the city of Tel Aviv, which injured a number of Israelis.

Sayed Abdullah Al-Ghuraifi warned that the "Ibrahimism" slogan related to the normalizing "Abraham Accords" with the Zionist occupation entity, is "a slogan that internalizes goals that have nothing to do with the rapprochement of religions" but rather "goals engineered in the factories of politics."

The largest opposition party in Bahrain, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has welcomed the recent agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations and establish embassies within two months.

In the country, the question on everyone's mind is whether Salman bin Hamad or Nasser bin Hamad will cast a longer shadow, and what the king will ultimately decide regarding this duality.

During the 2022 elections, the Progressive Democratic Tribune (Al-Minbar) issued a political document, along with 3 loyal political societies, in which it said that it would "support candidates who oppose normalization in the next parliament." It did the same in several statements it issued later, as it consistently rejected normalization, became part of the "Bahraini Initiative Against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy" and signed all its statements warning people of the evils of normalization.

Are Bahrain and Qatar really on the path to achieve reconciliation? Why are there no positive initiatives to resolve the crisis? Does the seizure of Qataris properties in Bahrain serve this path?

The Bahraini authorities have begun fencing a huge plot of land located next to Al-Seef Bridge investment area, which belongs to three sons of Khalid bin Nasser Abdullah Al-Misnad, brother of Mozah Al-Misnad, mother of Qatari Emir Tamim.

Human Rights Watch condemned the Bahraini authorities' revoking of the entry visas of two Human Rights Watch staff members to attend the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, although the organization holds permanent observer status with the IPU.