Bahrain Mirror: Director of Bahrain Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (BIRD), Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, stressed that Wa'ad former president Ibrahim Sharif was arrested for exercising his right to freedom of peaceful expression on social media outlets. Sharif criticized Bahrain's participation in the US-led coalition.

Al-Wadaei said in a statement on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 that "The US government is directly implicated in Sharif's arrest as it chose to partner with an abusive ally."

BIRD spoke to Ibrahim Sharif's lawyer, who attended the police interview and confirmed his arrest was linked to social media posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. In one post, Mr. Sharif criticized the decision of Bahrain's "unelected" government.

Al-Wadaei pointed out that "the Bahraini regime took a decision without the consent of its citizens to participate in the Red Sea operation," recalling that "the United States and Bahrain signed, in September 2023, a security agreement that Bahraini human rights activists severely criticized."

Al-Wadaei called on the US government "to publicly call for his immediate and unconditional release," warning that "failing to do so makes it complicit."

On Wednesday, the security authorities arrested prominent opposition activist Ibrahim Sharif on charges of criticizing Bahrain's participation in the US-led "maritime coalition" in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against Yemen.

Arabic Version