Bahrain Mirror: The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights Forum recorded 1,272 gross violations of human rights in its monthly Human Rights Index report for the month of May.

The human rights situation in Bahrain continued to deteriorate in May 2018; 1272 human rights violations were observed between 1 and 30 May 2018, said the report. They ranged between arbitrary arrests, house raids, unfair trials, crackdown on protests, restrictions on freedom of movement, prohibition of Friday prayers, media promoting hate speech, torture and ill-treatment, injuries, destruction or confiscation of property and violations of freedom of religion and belief.

The violations recorded were as follows: 56 cases of arbitrary arrests, including 11 children and 2 women, 262 citizens subjected to arbitrary sentences. The total arbitrary sentences amounted to 2,145 years and six months of imprisonment and 8,200 Bahraini Dinars (equivalent to 21,808 USD) of fines. Moreover, the report added that there were 51 cases of torture and ill-treatment, including 4 cases of denial of treatment, 330 media materials promoting hate speech, 88 unlawful raids on houses and residential facilities, 71 crackdowns on peaceful gatherings and protests, 344 cases of detainees or defendants brought before the courts for trials involving freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, violation of freedom of movement through the continuation of the security siege imposed on the Diraz area for the 709th day as well as the continued house arrest imposed on the highest religious authority of Shia Muslims in Bahrain, Sheikh Isa Qassim, for the 372nd day without judicial verdict or administrative decision, violation of freedom of religion and belief by banning Friday prayers in Diraz four times during May, bringing the figure to 98 bans since 2016, two cases of property confiscation against the law, and two cases of damage to property.

While Bahrain witnessed 252 protests during May, the total number of protest activities since the beginning of the year reached 1,692, despite the continued ban on peaceful assemblies for 1338 days. The number of arbitrary arrests since the beginning of the year reached 423, including 66 children, 741 citizens have been stripped of their citizenships since 2012 for political reasons, 526 raids have been launched on homes and residential establishments, contrary to the law since the beginning of the year. The number of defendants sentenced arbitrarily since the beginning of the year have amounted to 707 Bahraini citizens, including five women and five children, while the total number of prison sentences amounted to 5034 years and 15 months of imprisonment in addition to three years of suspended imprisonment. The total fines for those sentenced arbitrarily amounted to: 1,041,084, 135 sentences revoking nationalities were issued at different degrees of prosecution, as well as 10 arbitrary deportation sentences and 14 death sentences. Meanwhile, the total number of human rights violations during January, February, March, April and May amounted to 6,788.

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