The 2018 report of the Secretary-General included references by multiple United Nations actors to a general context of harassment and intimidation against Bahraini civil society representatives seeking to cooperate with the United Nations (A/HRC/39/41 paras. 29–30). Those individuals included Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei and some of his close relatives, Ms. Ebtesam Abdulhusain Ali-Alsaegh, and Mr. Nabeel Rajab (A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, paras. 1–6; Annex II, paras. 4–11). [...] 3. Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei reportedly continues to suffer disparaging public statements in pro-Government media. The deterioration of the detention and health conditions of his mother-in-law, Ms. Hajar Mansoor Hassan, and her two cellmates at Isa Town Women’s detention Centre, Ms. Medina Ali and Ms. Najah Yusuf, have been reported. On 19 January 2019, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the detention of Mr. Al-Wadaei’s relatives, Mr. Mahmood Marzooq Mansoor and Ms. Hassan, to be arbitrary and in reprisal for their family ties with him (A/HRC/WGAD/2018/51, para. 85, 93). 106 The Opinion was reported in the media and the Ministry of Interior publicly referred to Mr. Al-Wadaei as a “terrorist fugitive” and a “criminal,” and to his family members as “terrorists.” [...] On 20 March 2019, the Embassy of Bahrain in London, through its Twitter account, posted private correspondence between Mr. Al-Wadaei and the Ombudsman Office of the Ministry of Interior of Bahrain, including information on the situation of his mother-in-law and private email accounts of relatives. The tweets were later deleted.

The case of Ms. Hajar Mansoor Hasan was included in the 2018 and 2019 reports of the Secretary-General on allegations of arbitrary detention and abuse due to her family ties with Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei (A/HRC/39/41, Annex I, para. 5; A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, paras. 3–6). The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the detention of Mr. Al-Wadaei’s relatives, including that of Ms. Mansoor Hasan, to be arbitrary and in reprisal for his cooperation with the UN and based on their family ties with him (WGAD/2018/51, paras. 85, 93 and 96). The case of Ms. Medina Ali, at the time Ms. Mansoor Hasan’s cellmate, was also included in the 2019 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, para. 3). 2. On 1 November 2019, special procedures mandate holders addressed the continued imprisonment and abuse against Ms. Mansoor Hasan and Ms. Ali (BHR 3/2019). In mid- September 2019, both women were reportedly denied the right to participate in the commemorative Ashura rites with the other inmates, and their requests for Ashura books were rejected. Mandate holders noted that around those dates, the 2019 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/42/30) was made public and discussed at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council. 3. Mandate holders also raised concern about further targeting after the cases of Ms. Mansoor Hasan and Ms. Ali were discussed at an NGO side event on the margins of the Council in September 2019, broadcast online by the organisers, and a report including their cases was launched on the situation of female political prisoners in Bahrain. The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) issued a statement denying the allegations and, around those dates, Ms. Mansoor Hasan and Ms. Ali were barred from communicating with other inmates who were threatened with punishment if they attempted communication (BHR 3/2019). 4. On 29 December 2019, the Government 1 noted that the General Directorate of Reform and Rehabilitation allows all inmates to fulfil their religious obligations, as long as they do not undermine security and order and that they follow the rules governing such practices. The Government stated that oversight mechanisms undertake regular and periodic visits to detention centers. On 15 December 2019, under Act No. 18 of 2017 on alternative penalties and measures, a judge approved the release from prison of Ms. Ali on 16 December 2019. On 5 March 2020, Ms. Mansoor Hasan was released after the completion of her sentence.

10. The cases of Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al- Wadaei and several of his relatives were included in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 reports of the Secretary-General on allegations of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, removal of citizenship and reprisals against family members for Mr. Al-Wadaei’s continuous engagement with the UN. Mr. Al-Wadaei, a human rights defender and co-founder of the NGO Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), fled Bahrain in 2012 and currently lives in exile. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the detention of Mr. Al-Wadaei’s relatives to be arbitrary, in reprisal for his cooperation with the UN, and based on their family ties with him. According to information received by OHCHR, in July 2021, forensic evidence from an investigation reportedly showed that Mr. Al-Waedi was amongst nine human rights defenders targeted and successfully hacked using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on their mobile phones between June 2020 and February 2021. During the reporting period, relatives of Mr. Al-Wadaei have allegedly continued to suffer intimidation and harassment, including his wife and brother-in-law.

9. The cases of human rights defender Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al- Wadaei and several of his relatives were included in the 2019, 2020 and 2022 reports of the Secretary-General on allegations of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, removal of citizenship and reprisals against family members for Mr. Al-Wadaei’s continuous engagement with the United Nations. In 2018, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the detention of Mr. Al-Wadaei’s relatives to be arbitrary, based on their family ties and in reprisal for Mr. Al-Wadaei’s cooperation with the United Nations. Since 2012, Mr. Al-Wadaei is residing in exile. In July 2021, digital forensic evidence from an investigation reportedly confirmed that Mr. Al Wadaedi was amongst a group of human rights defenders targeted and successfully hacked with the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on their mobile phones during the period from 2017 to 2019. In its July 2022 report, the Working Group noted with concern that it continued to receive information about reprisals against individuals who have been the subject of an urgent appeal or an opinion or whose cases have prompted a recommendation of the Working Group (A/HRC/51/29). The Working Group noted allegations of reprisals against Mr. Sayed Nazar Naama Baqqer Ali Yusuf Alwadaei, the brother-in-law of Mr. Al-Wadaedi, who reportedly remains imprisoned in Jau Prison serving an 11-year sentence in reprisals for the activism of his brother-in-law, Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei (para. 29).
10. Concerning the case of Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei the Government clarified that the charges against him had been confirmed and that he had committed criminal acts. With regard to his brother-in-law, Mr. Sayed Nazar Naama Baqqer Ali Yusuf Al-Wadaei, the Government noted that he was awaiting the appeal verdict over his sentencing to seven and three years in prison for his alleged involvement in 2017 in an attack against law enforcement patrols. The Government noted further that Mr. Sayed Nazar Naama Baqqer Ali Yusuf Al Wadaei had confessed under interrogation to the charges of carrying and planting an object made to resemble explosives for terrorist purposes.

15. The cases of human rights defender Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei and several of his relatives have been included in the reports of the Secretary-General since 2022, and before that in 2019 and 2020, 17 on allegations of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, removal of citizenship and reprisals for Mr. Al-Wadaei’s continuous engagement with the United Nations. In 2018, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 18 found the detention of Mr. Al-Wadaei’s relatives to be arbitrary, based on their family ties and in reprisal for Mr. Al-Wadaei’s cooperation with the United Nations. Mr. Al-Wadaei has resided in exile since 2012.

The situation of Mr. Sayed Nazar Naama Baqqer Ali Yusuf Alwadaei, the brother-in-law of Mr. Al-Wadaei, was included in the 2023 report of the Secretary-General on allegations of imprisonment in reprisals for the activism of Mr. Al-Wadaei (A/HRC/51/29 para. 29). According to information received by OHCHR, on 8 April 2024 Mr. Sayed Nazar Naama Baqqer Ali Yusuf Alwadaei was released unconditionally on royal pardon and reunited with his family.