Founded | October 2013 in London |
---|---|
Type |
Non-profit NGO |
Location |
|
Services | Protecting human rights |
Fields | Human rights, non-violence, research, advocacy |
Key people | Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei |
Website | birdbh.org |
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) is a non-profit human rights organisation based in London which promotes democratisation and human rights in Bahrain. [1] It was founded by Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Alaa Shehabi and Hussain Abdullah in 2013, and is funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust [2] for the years 2016-2019. The National Endowment for Democracy approved a grant for the year 2015. [3]
One of the founders of BIRD, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, received attention for his advocacy work [4] and for protesting against visits by members of the Bahraini Royal Family to the United Kingdom. As a fugitive from Bahrain, he subsequently had his Bahraini citizenship revoked in January 2015 and has applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. In 2020, he was co-winner of the Index on Censorship "campaigning" award, for "[continuing] his work as a prominent critic of the Bahraini government ... despite the danger faced by him and his family." [5]
BIRD has led a number of campaigns to raise awareness about what they view as the political repression of the Bahraini pro-democracy movement. These have included campaigns around the Bahrain Formula 1 [6] race and the candidacy of Sheikh Salman Alkhalifa for President of FIFA in 2016. [7]
BIRD has been active in campaigning for the release of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who has been repeatedly imprisoned in Bahrain after criticising the Bahraini government. [8] [9]
BIRD has worked closely with regional and international human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Reprieve, Amnesty International, UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, the Stop The War Coalition, Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB). [10] [11]
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