Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy

Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
Founded October 2013 in London
Type Non-profit
NGO
Location
  • London
Services Protecting human rights
Fields Human rights, non-violence, research, advocacy
Key people
 Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei
Website birdbh.org

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) is a non-profit human rights organisation based in London which promotes democratisation and human rights in Bahrain.[1] It was founded by Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Alaa Shehabi and Hussain Abdullah in 2013, and is funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust[2] for the years 2016-2019. The National Endowment for Democracy approved a grant for the year 2015.[3]

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei has received attention for his advocacy work[4] and for protesting against visits by members of the Bahraini Royal Family to the United Kingdom. As a fugitive from Bahrain, he subsequently had his Bahraini citizenship revoked in January 2015 and has applied for asylum in the United Kingdom.

Campaigns

BIRD has led a number of campaigns to raise awareness about what they view as the political repression of the Bahraini pro-democracy movement. These have included campaigns around the Bahrain Formula 1[5] race and the candidacy of Sheikh Salman Alkhalifa for President of FIFA in 2016.[6]

BIRD has been active in campaigning for the release of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who has been repeatedly imprisoned in Bahrain after criticising the Bahraini government.[7][8]

BIRD has worked closely with regional and international human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Reprieve, Amnesty International, UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, the Stop The War Coalition, Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB).[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "About BIRD | Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy". birdbh.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  2. ↑ "Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy - Grantees - Welcome To The Sigrid Rausing Trust". www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Regional: Gulf – NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY". www.ned.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  4. ↑ Alwadaei, Sayed Ahmed (2015-07-07). "Losing Leverage on Bahrain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  5. ↑ Weaver, Paul (2016-04-03). "Bahrain Institute raises concerns of human rights abuse with FIA". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  6. ↑ Ruiz, Rebecca R. (2016-02-24). "Shadow of Human Rights Abuse Follows Contender in FIFA Vote". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  7. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (2017-01-26). "Activist faces prison for saying journalists are banned from Bahrain". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  8. ↑ editor, Patrick Wintour Diplomatic (2016-09-09). "Boris Johnson urged to call for release of Bahraini campaigner". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  9. ↑ "Event: Closing Civil Society, Religious & Political Space in Bahrain | Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy". birdbh.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  10. ↑ "Joint NGO Letter: Human Rights Situation in Bahrain". Human Rights Watch. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2017-01-27.


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