The Advocates for Human Rights submitted a report on the death penalty in Bahrain for the 123rd Session of the Human Rights Committee.
In 2017, Bahrain resumed executions. Because Bahraini law does not limit the death penalty to the most serious crimes, Bahraini authorities involve the death penalty with increasing frequency, specifically in cases targeting government critics accused of committing vaguely defined terrorism offenses. Since 2011, Bahrain has increasingly sentenced people to death in politically motivated cases, using the threat of terrorism as a pretext for violating the civil rights of individuals who criticize the government. The government is reported to prosecute individuals for their political beliefs, and coerces confessions. These cases, which are tried in military courts, have led to convictions and death sentences.
The authors of the report propose the following recommendations for the Government of Bahrain: