USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Conditions in Bahrain

  

 Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report on religious freedom conditions in Bahrain:
 

Bahrain Country Update – This country update examines religious freedom conditions in Bahrain. Throughout 2020, Bahrain continued to systematically restrict religious freedom for its Shi’a Muslim population. The government arrested Shi’a religious figures and imposed restrictions on the observance of the Ashura holiday beyond reasonable and lawful restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Shi’a prisoners in Bahrain also continued to be denied access to religious texts and had religious items confiscated despite a prison visit by the National Institute for Human Rights in August 2020.
 
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department place Bahrain on its Special Watch List (SWL) for its ongoing and systematic religious freedom violations.