Ebrahim Sharif, the former Secretary-General of the National Democratic Action Society in Bahrain (Wa’ad), was arrested by Bahraini authorities, without a warrant, when he landed at Bahrain International Airport on November 12th. The prominent political activist was flying back from Beirut, Lebanon after having attended the Arab National Conference.  While there, he publicly stated his support for Palestinians and their struggle for self-determination, and urged all Arab governments to do more to support the Palestinians.

After his arrest, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced that he was accused of spreading false news via social media and making offensive remarks against sister Arab states and their leaders. On November 20, 2025, the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) referred him to trial on charges of deliberately broadcasting false news and publicly insulting foreign states. Although his first court session was scheduled for November 26, 2025, Sharif was unaware of this decision. On November 22nd, he called his wife to inquire about the PPO’s decision, as he had not been brought before the PPO and had not been informed of either the charges against him or the referral to court, despite the announcement being published on social media. During the November 26 hearing, Sharif fully denied the charges, submitting a CD and a flash drive containing the complete, unedited interview on which the case was based. He requested time to respond to the charges and sought his release, citing his health condition and the lack of justification for continued detention. Nevertheless, the court ordered his continued imprisonment and adjourned the session to December 3rd, which was later postponed to December 9. Notably, Sharif was not permitted to review the case file until December 7, just two days before the hearing, despite a decision issued on December 2nd allowing him to do so. Moreover, the prison administration restricted his access to the file to one or two hours per day, limiting the total time available to review the full case file to no more than three to six hours. On December 9, the court again postponed the trial, setting December 25 as the date for the verdict. Despite being 68 years old and enduring harsh detention conditions, the judge ordered that Sharif remain in custody. Observers noted that the choice of Christmas Day was not coincidental, as it minimizes international scrutiny while much of the international community is engaged in holiday observances.

The prominent political activist has stated the inhumane conditions of his detention at the Dry Dock Detention Center, claiming he did not have a bed for the first three nights of his detention, forcing him to sleep on the floor. Furthermore, the ward was only open for one hour per day, where detainees had the choice to walk around the yard or watch television, and the rest of the day was spent inside a cell, in isolation. Newspapers were provided only once a week, further deepening detainees’ isolation. When he was later given a bed, Sharif discovered that it was infested with bedbugs. A few days afterward, he and other detainees filed a complaint with the prison administration, urging immediate action to address the bedbug infestation in the cell and potentially throughout the facility. Sharif reported that the bites, along with the resulting itching and swelling, were visible on many detainees, including himself. While the Dry Dock Detention Center administration responded partially by providing ointment, new mattresses, and new pillows, it failed to conduct a comprehensive inspection or thorough disinfection of the facility. These shortcomings were compounded by overall detention conditions that fall well below minimum hygiene standards. Sharif told his wife that when a detainee is released, another detainee inherits the same bed without any cleaning or disinfection. Sharif further described overcrowded cells with poor ventilation and dim, uncomfortable lighting that remains on both day and night. He also noted the absence of facilities for washing and drying clothes, forcing detainees to hang their clothing inside the cell, where it remains damp for extended periods. Additionally, despite his eyeglasses being broken during detention, the prison administration refused to accept replacement glasses from his wife during a family visit on November 25, 2025. The glasses were replaced only five or six days later, after he met with his lawyer in court.  Sharif also indicated that he suffers from health problems that are not being taken seriously, with repeated delays in providing medical care inside the prison. On December 2nd, during a family visit, he informed his wife that he and other detainees were allowed that day to walk in a larger, sunnier courtyard than usual and that their cell had been sterilized. These temporary improvements were later revealed to coincide with a visit by a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as conditions deteriorated again once the visit concluded.

This is Sharif’s 10th arrest since the 2011 pro-democracy protests in Bahrain. Each arrest has been made on the basis of Sharif using his right to freedom of expression. He spent five years in prison after being arrested for participating in the 2011 protests, where he was forcibly disappeared, held incommunicado for months and tortured. He suffered from forced sleep deprivation, sexual abuse and beatings at the hands of Bahraini authorities. He was released in June 2015, only to be arrested again in July of that same year for having criticised the government, wherein which he spent a further year in prison, and received a travel ban upon release. In 2016, he labelled Prince Charles’ visit to Bahrain as an attempt to whitewash Bahrain’s crackdown on dissent, resulting in another arrest, but the charges were dropped two weeks later. In March of 2017 he was arrested once again for criticising the government online, again in 2019 on similar charges. In 2023, Sharif criticized Bahrain’s choice to join the US-led coalition in the Red Sea, he was once again detained and charged with spreading false news during war time and inciting hatred. The most recent arrest before that of last month was in March 2024, where he critiqued Bahrain’s use of their sovereign wealth fund to acquire McLaren, instead of using this for the betterment of their citizens. He was detained for several days before being released, but the charges were never dropped, leaving the threat of prosecution looming over Sharif’s head.

Sharif’s case is one example of Bahrain’s systematic use of their vague anti-terror laws to repress dissent. Bahrain’s Information Technology Crimes Law of 2014 has very vague definitions which allows Bahraini authorities to exploit this law to persecute human rights activists. To do so, Bahrain uses a Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to monitor and censor content online, enabling authorities to identify critics and prosecute them. The Anti-Terror Law states that any online activity found to prejudice national unity constitutes a terrorist offense and will be punished accordingly. These terms are designed to be vague for the exploitation of the law in Bahrain’s extensive crackdown on dissent.

Bahrain’s constitution protects freedom of expression online and off, with the exception of any criticism of the government. This loophole undermines the spirit of freedom of expression and enforces nationwide censorship, absolving the government of any accountability. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is ratified by Bahrain, protests the freedom of expression and the right to share ideas and information through any medium. By repressing dissent, Bahrain actively violates its international and national obligations.

Bahraini officials must immediately and unconditionally Ebrahim Shariff, as well as modify its vague Cybercrime and Anti-terror laws to live up to its national and international responsibilities. Bahrain is violating international human rights law by censoring its citizens and revoking their right to freedom of expression.

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