Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Manama prohibiting worshippers from attending Friday prayer, HRW says

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 7 Jul 2023 15:06
4 Min Read

Human Rights Watch says the Bahraini authorities are prohibiting people from attending Friday prayers at the Mosque after detaining Sheikh Mohammad Sanqoor.

  • x
  • Protesters wave Bahraini flags during an anti-government demonstration in the village of Diraz, west of Manama, April 27, 2013 (AFP)
    Protesters wave Bahraini flags during an anti-government demonstration in the village of Diraz, west of Manama, April 27, 2013 (AFP)

The Bahraini authorities prohibited Shia worshippers from praying at the country's biggest mosque for the Shia sect, Human Rights Watch said Friday in light of another Bahraini crackdown on the majority religious sect.

The Imam Al-Sadeq mosque is in Al-Diraz, and it is the main site at which Bahrain's Shia population holds Friday prayers.

The human rights organization says the restrictions on the mosque were imposed after the Bahraini authorities briefly detained renowned Shia cleric Sheikh Mohammad Sanqoor, who usually gives sermons at the mosque.

Days ahead of his arrest, Sheikh Sanqoor called on the Bahraini authorities to share information with the families of the detainees in Bahrain's Jau prison about the conditions of their children, saying the families had recently learned that the detainees there were being abused.

"While there continued to be a significant police presence in and around Al-Diraz neighborhood and around Imam Al-Sadeq Mosque on Friday, June 23, 2023, restrictions to the neighborhood have since been eased," HRW said.

Sanqoor was arrested after he called on authorities "to reassure the families of prisoners about their loved ones." His words came in response to recent reports of abuse of individuals detained in Jau Prison.

Sanqoor was released following mass protests on May 25 May, though he is yet to return to the mosque since his release.

"Imam al-Sadeq Mosque is the main mosque for the Shi’a community [in Bahrain] and the primary location for Friday prayers. It is where the community discusses its suffering, needs, concerns, social and economic issues, problems in government, and oppression," one of the interviewees who was blocked from entering Al-Diraz neighborhood on June 16 to attend prayers told HRW.

Related News

Political prisoners walk free as Bahrain pardons 457 prisoners

More than 470 human-rights violations by regime in 2023: Wefaq Party

This comes despite the constitution of Bahrain protecting freedom of belief and guaranteeing the freedom to perform religious rites under Article 22. Articles 18 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain has ratified, protect individuals’ rights to freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression.

Back in April, the Bahraini Wefaq National Islamic Society party said it had registered hundreds of human rights violations by the Manama regime.

In its report,  Al-Wefaq indicated that the most prominent events of the first three months of this year were the campaigns of arbitrary arrests, summons, and raids following the peaceful demonstration commemorating the 12th anniversary of the 2001 popular uprising. 

Read more: Al-Wefaq: Prison conditions endangering lives of political prisoners

On the violations following the demonstration, Al-Wefaq reported:

  • 36 cases of arbitrary arrests between February and March (no arrests were reported in January)
  • 26 cases of  summons targeting 21 citizens
  • 22 arbitrary rulings; 12 by the Supreme Criminal Court of Bahrain, 1 by the Appellate Court, and 3 first-degree cases by unspecified courts. 

On human rights violations against prisoners by the Bahraini prison complex, the report identified: 

  • 6 cases in the Jau Central Prison, which is run by the Ministry of Interior
  • 1 case in the Dry Dock Detention Center, which is also run by the Ministry of Interior 

Several protests and acts of defiance were also reported from inside the prisons

  • 9 cases of hunger strikes in the Jau Central prison
  • 1 case of hunger strike in Dry Dock
  • 3 cases of protests in Jau

Al-Wefaq also reported that the regime's oppressive measures are being met with a range of peaceful protests: reporting 207 protests in 44 areas mainly in Al  Al-Sumoud Triangle, Al-Sanabis, and Jid Hafs.

Earlier in January, it was reported that the Bahraini regime sentenced 21 protesters to prison which included 3 minors. 

Seven of the defendants were sentenced to life in prison in absentia, while nine others were sentenced to ten years in prison, according to LuaLua television network: specifying that three minors were sentenced to a sentence of three years. 

  • Al-Wefaq Movement
  • Bahrain Human Rights Violations
  • Bahraini opposition
  • Bahrain
  • shia

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS