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Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) strongly condemns the ruling issued by Bahraini courts today against prominent opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif. Sharif was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 200 Bahraini dinars in connection with a statement he made in Beirut during his participation in the Arab National Conference held in November 2025.
On 12 November 2025, Bahraini security authorities arrested Ebrahim Sharif, the former Secretary-General of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), immediately upon his arrival at Bahrain International Airport from Beirut, Lebanon, without presenting an arrest warrant or clarifying the legal basis for his detention. Sharif participated in the Arab National Conference in Beirut, where, during his public interventions, he expressed support for the Palestinian people, condemned genocide in Gaza, called on Arab governments to assume their legal and moral responsibilities toward the Palestinian cause, and criticised what he considers official Arab inaction and abdication.
Following his arrest, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced that Ebrahim Sharif is charged with “spreading false news” via social media and making “offensive statements against brotherly Arab countries” and their leadership. On 20 November 2025, the Bahraini Public Prosecution referred Sharif to trial, charging him with deliberately disseminating false news and publicly insulting foreign states.
During the trial session, held on 29 December 2025, Sharif’s legal defence submitted a substantive legal plea, challenging the validity of the arrest and summons procedures. They affirmed that Bahraini law imposes a clear, mandatory procedural sequence in such cases, which requires a formal written request from the Minister of Justice to the Public Prosecutor, followed by the opening of an investigation by the competent prosecution, after which a request for arrest and summons may be made through the Ministry of Interior. The defence argued that bypassing this sequence constitutes a serious legal and procedural breach, rendering the arrest and summons procedures null and void.
The defence further emphasised that this procedure constitutes a clear violation of Articles 215 and 12 of the Bahraini Penal Code, which explicitly stipulate that “no criminal case may be initiated except upon a written request submitted to the Public Prosecution by the Minister of Justice in the crimes stipulated in Article (215) of the Penal Code and other crimes specified by law.” The defence also asserted that the charges brought against Sharif lack a clear legal basis, whether in terms of the applicable legal provisions or the legal characterisation of the acts attributed to him.
The charges, actions and trial against Sharif have been marred with legal and procedural violations. Article 23 of the Bahraini Constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and expression. It does not criminalise political criticism unless it includes an explicit call to violence, an element wholly absent from Sharif’s statements. These charges are a constitutional and a human rights violation.
Sharif has been charged with “spreading false news,” which legally requires precise identification of the false information, proof that the accused knew it to be untrue, and a demonstration of its direct and specific harm to security or public order. However, the Public Prosecution failed to establish any of these elements, indicating a lack of evidence.
Sharif’s statement was made in the context of a media interview, where he expressed his political opinion. Sharif’s opinion cannot be assessed through selective quotation or extraction alone, but rather through a review of the complete recording of the interview, which was submitted by the defence, which refutes any interpretation taken out of its objective context.
Sharif was held in pre-trial detention, despite being an exceptional measure that should only be applied when there is a real risk of flight or evidence tampering. Such conditions do not apply to this case.
SALAM DHR believes that the insistence on arresting Ebrahim Sharif from the outset, him being transferring to the Public Prosecution in custody, and his continued detention until the issuance of a prison sentence reflects a prior and implicit inclination to use imprisonment arbitrarily, despite the absence of any genuine legal justification and despite the availability of numerous legal measures allowing release pending investigation, along with clear legal alternatives to custodial sentences.
Accordingly, SALAM DHR calls on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sharif and drop all charges against him, as they are directly linked to his legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by the Bahraini Constitution and the international human rights treaties to which Bahrain is a party.
SALAM DHR also calls for the release of all prisoners of conscience, foremost among them being political leaders whom UN special rapporteurs have deemed arbitrarily detained and denied fair trials in accordance with international standards.
Finally, SALAM DHR urges the Bahraini authorities to strengthen and protect the right to freedom of expression and to ensure that cybercrime laws fulfil their genuine role in protecting users from cybercrime, rather than being employed to persecute critics and political opponents by attaching vague charges against them, which contravene the Constitution and Bahrain’s international human rights obligations.