Nabeel Rajab (; born 1 September 1964) is a Bahraini human rights activist and opposition figure. He is the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), a member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch's Middle East Division, deputy secretary general for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), member of the Advisory Board of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), co-founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), and former chairman of CARAM Asia.
Rajab’s human rights activism began during the 1990s uprising in Bahrain. Rajab has used social networking as a tool in human rights campaigning, which has led to conflicts with the Bahraini authorities. His activism has been acknowledged by international human rights organizations such as Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Reporters Without Borders, which have highlighted his targeting by the Bahraini government.
In the 2011 Bahraini uprising, Rajab led several protests, frequently clashing with political authorities and Public Security Forces. He has critiqued not only the Bahraini government on its human rights record but also the stance of Bahrain's allies, including the United States. His activism, especially following the 2012 Grand Prix protests, led to his arrest and multiple incarcerations. In 2012, he was detained and sentenced to three months in prison for a Twitter post deemed as "insulting Bahrainis". Whilst still detained, he received a three-year prison sentence on charges related to his protest activities, later reduced to two years upon appeal. After being released in 2014, Rajab was re-arrested for criticizing the government via Twitter and was later the same year released on bail pending trial in 2015.
In a notable case on 21 February 2018, the High Criminal Court of Bahrain sentenced Rajab to five years in prison for statements critical of the Bahraini government's actions, including allegations he published of his mistreatment and torture within Jaw Prison in 2015. He was released from prison on 9 June 2020.
Biography Nabeel Rajab was born on 1 September 1964 in Bahrain to a middle-class family. He is married and has two children. He finished his secondary school education in 1983 in Bahrain, specializing in science. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from the University of Pune (formerly University of Poona) in India in 1987."The Agony of Nabeel Rajab". The Atlantic. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012. He earns his living as a "building contractor by trade". In February 2012, Rajab announced his intention to close down his business due to what he called government harassment.. . Bahrain Mirror. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012. Nabeel Rajab is a nephew of Mohamed Hasan Jawad, one of the Bahrain Thirteen who were imprisoned for taking part in the uprising in 2011. He is also a cousin of Hussain Jawad, a prominent human rights activist arrested in February 2015.
Human rights activism Early years In an interview with Bahrain Mirror, Rajab spoke about his earliest human rights activities while still a student at Al Hoora secondary school and described two particularly significant formative experiences:
Two events affected me most, one when a colleague dropped himself from second floor to escape under-covered [sic] police who stormed [the] school. The second incident was when a dear teacher was arrested. That is when my voice started to rise and become annoying. I was caught vandalizing a school wall by writing apolitical human rights statements on school walls and was given the choice to either be submitted to police or to switch school. So I took the easy way out and since I was the top student back then, I choose to switch to Sheikh Abdul Aziz school.
Rajab traveled to India to study Political Science and History. He received his bachelor's degree but financial problems after his father became ill prevented him obtaining a master's degree. He returned to Bahrain to find employment. During his college years, he remained independent of political affiliations. According to Rajab, despite lacking a clear understanding of what constitutes a culture of human rights or knowledge of human rights standards and norms, he was active within the general Bahraini students union, speaking out against all forms of injustice. He also became involved in international campaigning on specific issues.
According to Rajab, he became involved in organized human rights activities during the 1990s uprising in Bahrain. In 1996 Rajab discussed the idea of setting up a human rights organization with Ali Rabea and Ibrahim Kamal Al Den. They introduced him to Salman Kamal Al Den, Sabeeka Al Najjar, Mohammed Al Motawa and other colleagues with whom they held secret meetings. Together they founded the Bahrain Human Rights Society in 2000.
Founding of human rights committees With the ending of the oppressive State Security Law period in 2000, Rajab was able to begin working openly in the field of Human rights as one of the founders of the Bahrain Human Rights Society, one of the first human rights organizations in Bahrain. He subsequently fell out with some of the other founders. In 2002, following wide-ranging political reforms by the Bahraini government which allowed independent human rights groups to operate, Rajab worked with Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and others to found the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), a nonprofit non-governmental organization which works to promote human rights in Bahrain."About us" . Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. Retrieved 17 May 2011. Rajab was Training Program Officer and Senior Researcher at BCHR. He later became vice president and Head of International Relations until"Nabeel Rajab" . WAN-IFRA. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012. he later took over from Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja as BCHR president, a position he still held as of August 2012."Bahrain, emboldened by international silence, sentences Nabeel Rajab to 3 years imprisonment" . Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012. In 2011, he along with Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Khalid Ibrahim founded the Gulf Centre for Human Rights. Rajab became the president of the newly founded rights group, and remains a Founding Director.
Rights of migrant workers
Rajab was one of the founders of the first migrant workers' protection committee in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the Migrant Workers Protection Group (in 2003).Jane Kinninmont (15 August 2012). "Bahrain's still stuck" . Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 August 2012. On 28 April 2007, the Bahraini Parliament passed a law banning unmarried migrant workers from living in residential areas. BCHR issued a press release condemning this decision as discriminatory and promoting negative racist attitudes towards migrant workers. Rajab, then BCHR vice president, said:
It is appalling that Bahrain is willing to rest on the benefits of these people's hard work, and often their suffering, but that they refuse to live with them in equality and dignity. The solution is not to force migrant workers into ghettos, but to urge companies to improve living conditions for workers – and not to accommodate large numbers of workers in inadequate space, and to improve the standard of living for them.
In October 2009 Nabeel was elected Chairperson of CARAM Asia for 2 years."CARAM Asia Elects New Board of Directors" . CARAM Asia. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011. On 24 February 2010, Rajab addressed the "World Congress against the Death Penalty" conference in Geneva on the subject of "Migrant Workers and the Death Penalty in Bahrain & Saudi Arabia". He drew attention to the exceptional vulnerability of migrant workers in countries with systemic abuses and rights violations.
Work with other international human rights organizations
Since December 2009, Nabeel has been a member of the Board of Advisors of the Middle East and North African division of Human Rights Watch, a position he still held in February 2012."Middle East and North Africa Division - Advisory Committee Members" . Human Rights Watch. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012. In July 2010 the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) appointed Rajab to the position of Deputy Secretary General and FIDH permanent representative in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries."Nabeel Rajab Appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General for the International Federation for Human Rights" . BCHR. Retrieved 18 May 2011."Interview of Nabeel Rajab president of Bahrain center for human rights, deputy secretary general of FIDH". International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). 18 February 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011. He is also a member of the Arab working group for media monitoring."Events Archive – Fall 2011". George Washington University. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
Recognition In 2011, Rajab received the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, presented annually by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars."Bahraini Human Rights Activist Nabeel Rajab to Receive 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011."Bahrain/Washington: Nabeel Rajab Awarded the 2011 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award by the Washington based Woodrow Wilson Intemational Center for Scholars" . Front Line Defenders. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011. The award citation praised him for having "worked tirelessly and at considerable personal peril to advance the cause of democratic freedoms and the civil rights of Bahraini citizens". On 13 September, Rajab received the British Silbury Prize to "facilitate his on-going humanitarian and human rights work".BCHR: "Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab receives the Silbury Prize" . BCHR. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011. In December, the Arabic American organization for democracy and human rights listed him among the fifteen "leaders of the Arab Spring". Other activists from Bahrain included Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Mohamed al-Maskati.. . NOW Lebanon. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
In 2012, the BCHR led by Rajab won the Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Awards. The award sponsored by Bindmans LLP aims to "recognise campaigners or activists who have fought repression, or have struggled to challenge political climates and perceptions.""Freedom of Expression Awards 2012" . Index on Censorship. Retrieved 20 August 2012.Sara Yasin (6 May 2012). "Index condemns the arrest of prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 20 August 2012. BCHR was also recipient of Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty given by Human Rights First."Nabeel Rajab’s Verdict in Appeal of Twitter Case Due Sunday". Human Rights First. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012. and in 2013 it won the Rafto Prize "for their long and courageous fight for fundamental human rights".
Government harassment prior to 2011