Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) stated that the Bahraini security authorities arbitrarily arrested 39 citizens, adding that 66 others were subjected to torture and ill-treatment during the third week of April, 2016.

In a statement on the human rights situation in Bahrain during the period between April 15 and 22, the forum noted that the authorities made 46 illegal house raids and cracked down on 15 peaceful protests. BFHR said that Bahraini courts issued arbitrary sentences reaching up to a total of 130 years against 16 citizens, stressing that it also recorded 3 cases of forced disappearances.

"Hate speech increased in the official state press and some social media outlets via accounts of pro-regime figures, in addition to the Bahrain Defence Force statement and the Parliament's approval to issue a statement calling for declaring war against one of Shiite sect's adopted beliefs," BFHR stressed.

The forum concluded its statement by shedding light on "the arbitrary arrest of a prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Mohammad Al-Mansi over an unlicensed [leading] of prayer and referred him, while in detention, to the third criminal court over charges related to freedoms of expression and religion, as well as the Ministry of Interior's summoning of two Al-Wefaq senior figures Khalil Al-Marzooq and Abduljalil Khalil over cases linked to freedom of expression, which is deemed a violation against freedom of political activism."

Arabic Version