HRW urges Bahrain to free Ibrahim Sharif detained over Gaza remarks
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Rights groups demand Sharif's release amid a broader crackdown on dissent in Bahrain.
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Bahraini opposition leader Ibrahim Sharif, who led the opposition National Democratic Action Society group, smiles to journalists at his home following his overnight release from prison, in Tubli, Bahrain, Saturday, June 20, 2015. (AP)
Bahraini authorities have arrested prominent political activist Ibrahim Sharif over peaceful comments he made in Beirut, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) reported today.
Blogger Yousif al-Jamri reported that Sharif, the former secretary-general of the Bahraini Democratic Nationalist Action Society, was detained following statements he made on Al-Lulu TV in Beirut, calling on Arabs and Arab governments to support Palestinians. Both organizations urged Bahraini authorities to release him immediately and to end the longstanding practice of detaining individuals for peacefully exercising their right to free expression.
“Nations should be taking steps to prevent genocide and other crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, not arresting their own citizens for making peaceful remarks in support of them,” said Nico Jafarnia, a Bahrain and Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Arrested for calling the Arab world to aid Gaza
Sharif was arrested at Bahrain International Airport on November 12, 2025, upon his arrival from Beirut, where he had attended the Arab National Conference. Later that day, the Bahraini Interior Ministry issued a statement saying he had been detained on charges of “spreading false news on social media and making offensive remarks against sister Arab states and their leaders.”
The following day, the Bahraini Public Prosecution announced on Instagram that he would remain in custody pending an investigation into the allegations.
This marks the eighth time since 2011 that Bahraini authorities have either arrested, interrogated, or prosecuted Sharif, all over his peaceful exercise of assembly and free expression.
Sharif’s case is not unique, with Human Rights Watch documenting decades of ongoing arbitrary arrests in Bahrain targeting people for exercising their right to free expression.
320 individuals held as political prisoners since 2011
According to research by BIRD, around 320 individuals are currently held as political prisoners in Bahrain, some since the pro-democracy uprising of 2011. This includes prominent human rights defenders and opposition figures, such as Hassan Mushaima, Abduljalil al-Singace, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, and Abdulwahab Hussein.
Twelve of these prisoners are facing execution, including Mohammad Ramadan and Hussein Mousa, whose detention the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared arbitrary, calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
Despite this, the United Kingdom and European Union have continued to sign trade agreements with Bahrain without publicly pressing the government to release numerous detained political activists, including al-Khawaja and Sheikh Mohammed Habib al-Miqdad, both European nationals.
“Governments allied with Bahrain must stop covering up these abuses and apply real pressure to end violations against peaceful activists and political opposition,” said Sayed Ahmed al-Wadaei, advocacy director at BIRD.
