Nabeel Rajab: A true patriot's journey. Formal political parties are not permitted, but members of “political societies” have participated in elections in practice.Lower house elections were held in November 2018, with a runoff round in December, but with bans on the country’s main opposition groups in place, the exercise featured little meaningful competition. Some Shiite leaders objected to the new law. Four officers were killed during 2017, and multiple injuries were reported in 2018.Women enjoy legal equality on some issues, and gender-based discrimination in employment is prohibited. However, Shiite citizens encounter difficulties obtaining affordable housing and in some cases face bans on purchasing land. In July 2019, police used tear gas while forcibly dispersing protests that followed the execution of two Shiite activists.Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are prohibited from operating without a permit, and authorities have broad discretion to deny or revoke permits. Authorities have failed to hold officials accountable for torture and ill-treatment, and oversight mechanisms are not independent of the government.King Hamad al-Khalifa and the courts have reinstated the citizenship of 698 individuals who had their nationality revoked on apparently trumped-up terrorism or national security charges. There is a general perception that Shiite public employees are relegated to nonsecurity ministries, like those focused on health and education, which may put Sunni applicants at a disadvantage in such sectors. In 2018, several exiled Bahraini opposition activists brought a court case against a British spyware company that they accused of helping the Bahraini authorities to hack and surveil their computers.A permit is required to hold demonstrations, and a variety of onerous restrictions make it difficult to organize a legal gathering in practice. Legal reforms in recent years have sought to lower the capital requirements and other obstacles to registering and operating businesses. In 2011, a number of faculty members and administrators were fired for supporting the call for democracy, and hundreds of students were expelled.
Bahrain established a “flexible” permit for foreign workers in 2017, aiming to ease the workers’ ability to change jobs; the traditional sponsorship system ties migrant workers to a specific employer. The agency has been accused of torture and other abuses. Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, left, is greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, April 30, 2019.
Some employers subject them to forced labor and withhold their salaries and passports, although this is illegal. The law does not provide protections against such bias, though same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized for those aged 21 and older. By late in 2019, according to data compiled by the United Kingdom–based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, nearly two-thirds of the people whose citizenship had been revoked over the past seven years had had it restored, leaving 292 denationalized. In 2017, the government restored the National Security Agency’s power to make arrests. Six journalists remained behind bars as of December 2019, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and some journalists have had their citizenship revoked. The government does not publish socioeconomic data that are broken down by religious sect.Discrimination based on sexual orientation is common. Political prisoners went on hunger strike in August 2019 to protest poor treatment in custody, including the alleged denial of medical care and religious discrimination against Shiite prisoners, who said they were punished and mocked for trying to practice their faith.Three executions in 2017 marked the first uses of the death penalty since 2010, and another three men were put to death in July 2019. Public displays of same-sex affection could fall afoul of public decency laws.Bahrain is not a signatory to the 1951 refugee convention and does not recognize refugee status.Authorities restrict movement inside the country for residents of largely Shiite villages outside Manama, where the government maintains a heavy security presence. Two of the latest to be executed were Shiite activists who had been sentenced for terrorism-related offenses; five UN special rapporteurs and experts had appealed for their sentences to be halted given concerns about a flawed trial and the apparent use of coerced confessions.Police have been targeted in small bombings and armed attacks in recent years.
After an international outcry, the king decreed later the same month that citizenship would be restored to 551 people who had previously had it revoked, and he asked the Interior Ministry to review other cases. Those who remained were forced to sign loyalty pledges.The penal code includes a variety of punishments for offenses such as insulting the king or state institutions and spreading false news. Since 2011, the government has maintained a heavy security presence in primarily Shiite villages.Meanwhile, hundreds of Bahrainis have had their citizenship revoked in recent years, including a large number of Shiite leaders and activists.
Police regularly use force to break up political protests, most of which occur in Shiite villages.