On 30 March 2011, human rights defender Mr Mahmood Al-Yousif was arrested at his home in Duraz, Manama. His current whereabouts remains unknown. Mahmood Al-Yousif, a 50 year-old father of three, is an IT businessman and is a prominent blogger who has written extensively in favour of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Bahrain. He is also administrator of a website named 'Just Bahraini', which campaigns for unity between the Shia and Sunni communities in Bahrain under the slogan “Not Shia, Not Sunni, Just Bahraini”.

Further Information

Mahmood Al-Yousif's arrest comes as part of a widespread and ongoing campaign of threats, intimidation, violence and judicial harassment against human rights defenders and political activists in Bahrain, in response to peaceful protests in favour of democratisation which began in February. This campaign has been accompanied by a discourse aimed at stigmatising the peaceful protests through characterising their leaders and participants as 'terrorists' or 'extremists', or alleging unsubstantiated links to the Iranian government or militant organisations such as Hizbollah.

Mahmood Al-Yousif has been an advocate for the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Bahrain and actively discouraged violence on both sides. He is quoted as having stated: “regardless of [our] beliefs, status or wealth, our destinies as Bahrainis are intertwined and it behoves us to find equitable ways to live together and ameliorate our differences. I don't want to point fingers nor am I interested in apportioning further blame. I favour the recognition of the root causes of this strife in order to move on, no matter how painful that exercise may be.”

Given that the location of his detention is not known, Front Line believes that Mahmood Al-Yousif may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment, and is concerned for his physical and psychological integrity. Front Line believes that the arrest and detention of Mahmood Al-Yousif are directly related to his legitimate and peaceful activities in defence of human rights.