Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Articles by Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Mohammad Al-Maskati is the founder and former president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), and is currently a digital security consultant at Front Line Defenders., Twitter/Mohammad Al-Maskati

Bahraini rights defender Mohammad Al-Maskati faces prison if sentence upheld

Al-Maskati is the founder and former president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), and is currently a digital security consultant at Front Line Defenders. On 31 December 2014, the Lower Criminal Court in Bahrain sentenced him to six months in prison but he remained free on bail of 100 BHD until the appeal.

Link to: Call for release of Buddhist monk and prominent Vietnamese dissident Thich Quang Do

Call for release of Buddhist monk and prominent Vietnamese dissident Thich Quang Do

A renowned spiritual leader, scholar, dissident and many-times Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Thich Quang Do, 87, has spent more than three decades in detention in Vietnam for his peaceful advocacy of religious freedom, democracy and human rights.

Nabeel Rajab is currently subject to a travel ban and faces up to 10 years in prison for exercising his right to freedom of expression in Bahrain, Tine Poppe

European Parliament urges Bahrain to lift Nabeel Rajab’s travel ban and drop charges against him

On 19 November 2015, Member of the European Parliament Mr. Pier Antonio Panzeri, together with 80 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), issued a letter to Bahrain’s King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, calling on the Bahraini government to immediately lift the travel ban and drop all charges against human rights defender Nabeel Rajab.

Bassel Khartabil, a software developer and defender of freedom of information, was detained in 2012 by Syrian forces, Joi Ito / Flickr

Syria must disclose location of arrested activist Bassel Khartabil

Syria’s authorities have yet to disclose the whereabouts of Bassel Khartabil, a software developer and defender of freedom of information, one month after his transfer to an undisclosed location, 22 organisations said on 4 November 2015. Syrian authorities should immediately reveal his whereabouts and release him.

Link to: Saudi human rights advocate Abdulkarim Al-Khodr sentenced to 10 years in prison

Saudi human rights advocate Abdulkarim Al-Khodr sentenced to 10 years in prison

Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khodr, co-founder of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) in Saudi Arabia, is the tenth founding member of ACPRA to be jailed. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and a ten-year travel ban to take effect on completion of his sentence.