Bahrains record on human rights has been described by Human Rights Watch as "dismal", and having "deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010". Their subsequent report in 2020 noted that the human rights situation in the country had not improved.

The government of Bahrain have repressed the native Shia Muslim population. Torture and forced disappearances are common in Bahrain. The crackdown on protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring brought further human rights complaints,Human rights organizations criticize rampant abuses in Bahrain, jurist.org 8 April 2011 including the destruction of dozens of long-standing Shia mosques.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry was established on 29 June 2011 by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to assess the incidents that occurred in the Kingdom during the period of unrest in Bahrain in February and March 2011 and the consequences of these events. The report was released on 23 November of that year and confirmed that there were some incidents of physical and psychological abuse on detainees. It has been criticized for not disclosing the names of individual perpetrators of abuses and extending accountability only to those who actively carried out human rights violations.

Stateless people

There is a growing problem of stateless people, known as Bedoon, who are descendants of Iranians (especially ethnic Persians) who have lived in Bahrain for many decades. Most of Bahrain's stateless are Muslims, some of Bahrain's stateless are Christians.

In Bahrain, stateless people are denied the right to hold legal residency, are not allowed the right to travel abroad, buy houses, and to hold government jobs. They are also not allowed to own land, start a business and borrow loans. Recently, the Bahraini government issued regulations preventing them from sending their children to public schools and to receive free medical care. The stateless can also get deported at any time. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the Bahraini government has deported hundreds of Bedoon to Iran.

Torture

Despite repeated government claims of improvement over the course of several years,Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee against Torture : Bahrain., Committee Against Torture, United Nations Commission for Human Rights, 21 June 2005Bahrain ended issue of systematic torture , Arabic News.com, 29 September 2005 Human Rights Watch claims that "torture is a regular part of the legal process in Bahrain."

According to a 2011 report by Human Rights Watch, between 2007 and 2009, the government regularly practiced torture and ill-treatment in interrogating security suspects. Although government spokesmen have issued denials, there is no evidence of criminal investigations and the government has not imposed disciplinary measures on the alleged perpetrators.

In 2011, Human Rights Watch claimed to have found evidence that protections for migrant workers have improved.

According to a report published by Reprieve and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, death sentences in Bahrain have increased by over 600% in the last ten years. The report also called the use of torture in Bahrain "endemic", revealing cases of forced confessions, electric shocks, beatings and attempted rape.

Hakeem al-Araibi held in Thailand

In November 2018, a Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, who had been sentenced in absentia by Bahrain to 10 years in prison for vandalising a police station, was arrested upon arrival in Thailand with his wife for their honeymoon. The footballer, who was given refugee status by Australia in 2014, urged the Thailand authorities not to deport him to Bahrain as he was previously tortured in Bahrain for his political views.

He was kept in detention in Thailand while the Australian government and many international organisations and individuals lobbied for his release, until it was announced on 11 February 2019 by the Thai Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) that the extradition case against al-Araibi had been dropped by the criminal court at Bahrain's request. No reason was given by the foreign ministry, but the decision was made under Section 21 of the Prosecution Act, which allows for cases to be dropped if not in the public interest, and he would be released and allowed to return to Australia as soon as possible.

Discrimination

Against ethnic Iranians

According to reports from 2013 and 2016 Bahrainis of an Iranian descent (Like Bushehri Lurs, and Achomis) that have a Shia background face systematic racism whereas Sunni Achomis do not. Some Sunni Achomis object to being classified as "Ajam" (a term usually used to refer to non-Arabs and especially people of Iranian ancestry in GCC countries and especially Achomis), and argue that this term only refers to people who migrated from Iran with a Shia background. The researcher pointed out that the linguistic and religious situation of the Sunni Persians in Bahrain is thorny, and that there is sometimes deliberate confusion between the "Huwala Arabs" and the "Sunni Persians/Achomis."

Iranians of Bahrain could quite often face discrimination and racism, and their loyalty is always questioned. Alt URL Sectarian conflicts following the Islamic revolution of Iran, 2011 events, along with Islamic extremism, attributed to divisions among the Ajams of Bahrain.

While school students in Iran study Modern Standard (Formal) Arabic, Bahrainis of Iranian origins or Iranian ancestry cannot study Farsi, or any other Iranian languages, the suggestion was made between 1919-1923 and ignored. Citizenship laws in the Gulf Arab states currently mandate prolonged residency and a satisfactory proficiency in Arabic as prerequisites for applying for citizenship. This can indefinitely extend the stateless status of many Gulf Iranians, particularly those facing linguistic or other challenges. Alt URL Furthermore, online content about the country's Persian minority is virtually absent, and media outlets are forbidden from using the Persian language or addressing Persian culture.

Against Baharna

Similarly, it is reported (in 2016) that the native Bahrainis (Baḥārna), who are Shias, also face similar prejudices simply due to their religious background.

Sectarianism

Origin A sizeable minority of the citizen population of Bahrain are Shia Muslims. The ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family, who were supported by the US, arrived in Bahrain from Qatar at the end of the eighteenth century. Shiites alleged that the Al Khalifa failed to gain legitimacy in Bahrain and established a system of "political apartheid based on racial, sectarian, and tribal discrimination." Vali Nasr, a leading expert on Middle East and Islamic world said "For Shi'ites, Sunni rule has been like living under apartheid".

Sectarian discrimination

According to The Christian Science Monitor, Bahrain is practicing "a form of sectarian apartheid by not allowing Shiites to hold key government posts or serve in the police or military. In fact, the security forces are staffed by Sunnis from Syria and Pakistan who also get fast-tracked to Bahraini citizenship, much to the displeasure of the indigenous Shiite population."

According to the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, while the Shiites exceed 70% of the population, "they occupy less than 18% of total top jobs in government establishments. In several government ministries and corporations no Shiite is appointed in leading jobs."

Jobs in the police and armed forced are reserved for Sunni. Sunni Saudis are admitted to Bahrain as citizens to fill these jobs.Arabia Through the Looking Glass, Jonathan Raban Picador, 1987, p. 47. Shiites and "some Sunnis of Persian origins", are banned from residing in the city of West Riffa, where only the Sunni Muslims are permitted to live.

The Bahraini government's successfully made systematic efforts to diminish the Shia majority by promotion of immigration of Sunni Muslims and granting them citizenship. According to Dr. Saeeid Shahabi, a London-based journalist,commentator and political analyst and member of the Bahrain Freedom Movement

On 28 April 2007, the lower house of Bahraini Parliament passed a law banning unmarried migrant workers from living in residential areas. To justify the law MP Nasser Fadhala, a close ally of the government said "bachelors also use these houses to make alcohol, run prostitute rings or to rape children and housemaids".

Sadiq Rahma, technical committee head, who is a member of Al Wefaq said:

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights issued a press release condemning this decision as discriminatory and promoting negative racist attitudes towards migrant workers. Nabeel Rajab, then BCHR vice president, said:

There was a flurry of racially motivated hate messages sent to naturalized Bahrainis from developing countries after opposition political leaders alleged that immigration was tantamount to ‘cultural genocide’. In November 2006, Al Ayam published a collection of threats sent to naturalized citizens warning that they would have to 'choose between the suitcase and the coffin', promising 'Death and fire are your destiny' and another warned that the author hated all naturalized Bahrainis, "You are detested. You have taken from us, the sons of Bahrain, our homes, jobs and education opportunities. You will face the same destiny as the Egyptians in Iraq [after the end of the Iraq-Iran war]. It will be nails, hammers and a coffin. Your destiny is near."Naturalised Bahrainis face death threats , Gulf News, 11 August 2006

According to Human Rights Watch, Bahrain's personal status law (Law 19/2009), adopted in 2009 and marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance cases, applies only to Sunnis although women's groups believe that it should treat all citizens equally.

On 27 September 2017, Bahraini authorities attacked and took down many Ashura banners and slogans. Ashura, the tenth day of the Islamic year, is an event commemorated by Shias annually, marking the date that Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, was killed in the Battle of Karbala. This is not the first time that Bahraini authorities havd attacked the commemoration of Ashura; rather, they do so on a yearly basis.

Criticism of Bahraini government Among the journalists, authors and human rights activists who have criticized Bahrain's system as apartheid are Mansoor Al-Jamri, former editor of the Bahraini newspaper Al Wasat,Mansoor Al-Jamri says of the political system in Bahrain, "It's apartheid... They've made a decision that half the population is not wanted, and they want to instill fear in this population and dehumanize them." the Voice of Bahrain,UNHCR resolution (Ref: E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/L.8) "Questions of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including policies of racial discrimination and segregation and of apartheid, in all countries," is a "resolution condemning the government of Bahrain."