Bahrain Mirror: Salam Organization for Democracy and Human Rights criticized Bahrain's win of a seat in the highest United Nations human rights body, the Human Rights Council, despite the numerous violations the gulf island commits against its citizens.

"Bahrain has won membership of the Human Rights Council despite the death sentences executed on dissidents, who were subjected to unfair trials, and its failure to cooperate with the requests of special rapporteurs to visit Bahrain to investigate allegations of torture-related killings in prisons," said Salam.

"Bahraini authorities have killed five men while they cleared a sit-in in the Diraz area, revoked the nationalities of hundreds of Bahrainis, and have also thrown activists such as Nabeel Rajab behind bars, all while fighting freedom of opinion and expression by closing down Al-Wasat newspaper without justification or even a judicial order," it added.

Salam further highlighted that "Bahrain has also prohibited all activists from traveling to the Human Rights Council, in addition to a royal decree which reinstated the powers of the National Security Agency in its capacity as criminal arrest office. It also violates the commitments made to implement the recommendations of the fact-finding commission, noting that the Agency is involved in torture to death."

Arabic Version