Bahrain

The landscape of human rights continues to deteriorate in Bahrain since the unfair and unfree elections of 2022, providing the backdrop for the decline of academic freedom in the country. The government and the monarchy dominate state institutions, restricting the freedoms of speech and assembly of activists, civil society members, and scholars.

Since violently suppressing the 2011 pro-democracy protest movement, authorities have systematically dismantled the political opposition through both judicial and extrajudicial means, using torture, arbitrary detention, surveillance, and the denial of healthcare to political prisoners.

Although academic freedom is not formally restricted under Bahraini law, the environment for scholars and students is severely constrained. According to Freedom House, universities are affected by a broader climate in which criticism is equated with disloyalty to the state, and scholars critical of the government have faced dismissal and prosecution. The pattern of mass firings and student expulsions and suspensions that followed the 2011 protests has cast a shadow of fear over the time that has followed, establishing the precedent that academic engagement and dissent carry severe personal risk.

A major example, as well as one of the most severe and prolonged cases of an imprisoned scholar in Bahrain, is that of Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, an award-winning academic, mechanical engineer, and human rights defender. Dr. Al-Singace was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011, for his participation in peaceful pro-democracy protests. Since July 8, 2021, he has been on a solid-food hunger strike in response to the confiscation of his academic research materials by prison authorities. He has routinely been denied basic healthcare for his long-term poliomyelitis, and his medications have been withheld while his health has continued to deteriorate in order to pressure Al-Singace into halting his hunger strike. He is held in prolonged solitary confinement at Kanoo Medical Centre, where he is prohibited from going outside or receiving necessary medical care.

In March and June 2025, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa granted royal pardons to 839 prisoners. However, the pardons excluded political prisoners, such as those wrongfully imprisoned for their human rights work and involvement in the 2011 protests, including Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace. In March 2026, the 15th year anniversary of his arrest, an open letter signed by 18 human rights organizations requested the King to release Dr. Al-Singace. However, while an additional 300 prisoners were pardoned in March 2026, Dr. Al-Singace was excluded from the pardon and continues to serve his life sentence under extremely difficult conditions.

Beyond human rights activism and political opposition, academics can also face punishments for mere expression. Vaguely worded legislation introduced in 2019 and 2020, such as imprisonment for criticizing the king or Islam, has expanded the scope of criminalized speech and online activity, and placed harsher penalties on such expression. The state’s use of the Pegasus spyware to surveil Bahraini activists and a deeply entrenched and pervasive culture of censorship further illustrate the hostile environment for free expression.

These restrictions largely target the independent media, human rights defenders, and scholars. In January 2020, Bahraini authorities arrested historian and blogger Jassim Hussein Al-Abbas, who operates the popular historical website “Sanawat Al-Jareesh.” Al-Abbas was arrested in connection with a blog post about the history of a Bahraini mosque, which authorities claimed “spread false information,” contradicting the official narrative. He was released after seven days. In November 2023, Al-Abbas was arrested again, for ten days, for discussing the historical emergence of Islam and the Shia sect in Bahrain. The repeated targeting of Al-Abbas for work that falls within the normal scope of historical inquiry represents the restricted landscape of academic freedom in Bahrain. In such conditions, self-censorship has become widespread across Bahraini society, as a means for academics to protect themselves from prosecution, surveillance, and harassment.

Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) is closely monitoring the systematic suppression of academic freedom in Bahrain. We are deeply concerned with the imprisonment, mistreatment, and surveillance of pro-democracy leaders. We join the signatories of the open letter in demanding the immediate release of Abduljalil Al-Singace and all other imprisoned opposition leaders. ESW asks for the international community’s full attention to what is happening in Bahrain and that all efforts be made to get the Bahraini government to honor their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights treaties, including free and unhindered healthcare access to prisoners, the end of physical and psychological torture, and the revoking of the death sentence, as well as to investigate reports of abuse. We urge the Bahraini government to uphold the rights of scholars, students, and activists.

(Last updated June 18, 2026)

Please send appeals to the following:

His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa

Office of His Majesty the King

The Amiri Court

PO Box 555

Rifa’a Palace

Al-Manama

Kingdom of Bahrain

Fax: +973 176 64 587

Website: http://www.mofa.gov.bh/

Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa