Democratic organisations across north Africa and the middle east are denouncing the arrest by Bahraini authorities of Ibrahim Sharif, a well-known political activist and economist, former secretary-general of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), and a long-standing advocate for political reform, civil liberties and human rights in Bahrain.
Comrade Ibrahim was formerly associated with the revolutionary underground Arab nationalist and Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain (PFLOAG). As a result of his activism, he has been arrested many times by the Bahraini government, which has consistently tried to intimidate and suppress all resistance to its pro-zionist regime, particularly in relation to its role in the 2011 uprising.
During that uprising, Comrade Ibrahim was arrested on charges of “conspiring to overthrow the government” and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. His crime and that of his co-defendants was having organised a mass protest at the capital Manama’s infamous ‘Pearl roundabout’, site of a month-long popular encampment that was closed down when government forces attacked peaceful sleeping protesters with live ammunition in the middle of the night. (Bahrain: Saudi mercenaries cannot stop the revolution, Proletarian, April 2011)
Soon after his release, Mr Sharif spent a further year in prison (2016) on charges of “inciting hatred”. In all, he has been arrested ten times, frequently for social media posts. The movement of which he was a leading figure was banned, but he remains a well-known and respected figure in the country and a prominent voice in a popular campaign for the genuine implementation of Bahrain’s supposed ‘commitment to democratic values’ and ‘support for Palestine’.
On this occasion (his tenth arrest since being freed from jail), Sharif was arrested on 12 November at Bahrain airport on his way home from Lebanon. He is being prosecuted for making public statements calling for solidarity with the Palestinian people when he was at the Arab National Conference in Bierut. In a television interview, he reaffirmed the right to resistance against occupation and called for a mass movement to oppose normalisation with the zionist entity by Arab states.
Of course, these positions align with long-standing principles upheld by the broad masses of Bahrain (although the government officially normalised with the zionist entity in 2020). Indeed, the country’s constitution officially protects the rights to hold and express such views.
Nevertheless, Mr Sharif has been arrested on charges of “spreading false news on social media” and “making offensive remarks against sister Arab states and their leaders”. Government social media accounts have further accused him of “supporting symbols of sedition and terrorism”.
His trial was originally scheduled for 26 November, just days after his arrest, and the postponed for a week to 3 December. It will take place in a court with no jury, no press access and a single judge. Such courts routinely ignore evidence of torture and any witness testimony that counters the prosecution’s narrative.
If this fast-track ‘justice mechanism’ bears a striking resemblance to the Diplock court system that was used to guarantee the speedy incarceration of republicans during the recent national-liberation war in northern Ireland (and which the current Labour government is hoping soon to introduce in Britain), that might just reflect the fact that the architect of both systems was the same British imperialist ruling class.
Mr Sharif only learned about the charges against him and the date of his court hearing during a phone call with his wife on 23 November, as his jailers had told him nothing. He and his cell mates were kept for some time without any beds at all, and have registered a formal complaint that the ones that were eventually provided are infested with bed bugs.
We note that even western NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, have complained at this blatant persecution on grounds of speech alone.
We in the CPGB-ML express our full solidarity with Comrade Ibrahim Sharif and call on the Bahraini authorities to respect their own constitution and terminate his persecution.
The right of all Bahrainis to express their views freely must be protected without exception.
Statement from Bahraini anti-zionists
The Bahraini Association for Resisting Normalisation with the Zionist Enemy announces its solidarity with the association member, the activist Mr Ibrahim Sharif, and demands his release. The association is also monitoring with concern the continued detention of Brother Ibrahim Sharif since the dawn of Wednesday 12 November.
He was interrogated on the background of media statements in which he called on the Arab peoples to support the Palestinian people and back their right to resist the zionist occupation, boycott its supporters, and oppose normalisation with it.
Mr Sharif exercised his right guaranteed by the constitution, specifically article 23, which stipulates that “Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Every person has the right to express his opinion and publish it in speech, writing, or otherwise, under the conditions and procedures specified by the law in a manner that does not contravene islamic doctrine and the unity of the people, and that does not incite division or sectarianism.”
This same meaning is affirmed by the National Action Charter and the International Bill of Human Rights, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic Rights, as they are rights pertaining to freedom of opinion, expression and belief.
Furthermore, the National Action Charter explicitly states that Bahrain “supports and affirms the legitimate Palestinian rights, especially the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital”.
This is the very action that Sharif took in his media statement, through which he expressed the convictions of a wide segment of our people who support the Palestinian cause.
The association declares its solidarity with the association member, Mr Ibrahim Sharif, and demands his immediate release. It also believes that the true and dutiful position required of Arab governments, foremost among them the Kingdom of Bahrain, must reflect the positions of the Arab people.
This should materialise in the annulment of the normalisation agreement and the refusal to receive ambassadors of the criminal entity on our land, at a time when it is waging genocide, ethnic cleansing and the displacement of Palestinians from their land.
The criminal leaders of this entity also continue to speak about the “Greater Israel” project, which includes parts of Arab countries, and this entity has recently targeted a number of Arab states and violated their sovereignty.
The Bahraini Association for Resisting Normalisation demands that the Bahraini government take immediate measures to prevent the entity’s encroachment in our country, and to translate this on the ground by:
- Abrogating the normalisation agreement signed with it.
- Closing its embassy.
- Expelling its zionist ambassadors from our country.
- Closing the Bahraini embassy in the occupied Palestinian territories.
- Halting all forms of normalisation with it.
- Working to stop the genocide, ethnic cleansing and starvation to which the Palestinian people are subjected.
- Allowing the Bahraini people to provide all forms of support and assistance to their brothers and sisters in Palestine.
Glory to the martyrs of Palestine and the Arab nation.
A speedy recovery for the wounded.
Freedom for Mr Ibrahim Sharif.
Translation of the government Instagram post concerning Mr Sharif’s arrest
Referring a designer to trial for insulting an Arab state and broadcasting fabricated false news.
The acting chief public prosecutor stated that the public prosecution has ordered the referral of a defendant to trial for making media statements containing false and offensive news and information about Arab countries, accusing them of collusion and conspiracy against the causes of the people, and calling on the people to resist and demonstrate against governments.
The hearing for the case has been scheduled for 26 November 2025, before the minor criminal court.
The public prosecution had received a report from the cybercrime combat department regarding the monitoring of an interview given by the defendant on a television channel and on some social media platforms, in which he made statements containing false and offensive news about Arab countries, as previously mentioned.
The prosecution handled the investigation into this incident, reviewed the statements made and published by the defendant, and proceeded to interrogate him in the presence of his lawyer, ordering his detention in custody pending investigation.
In this context, the public prosecutor affirmed that freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed by the constitution, provided that it does not undermine national unity, incite discord or violate the law. He emphasised that broadcasting false news, provocative propaganda, malicious rumours and insulting countries are punishable offences.
Consequently, the actions committed by the defendant fall outside the scope of freedom of opinion and expression and constitute a crime according to the constitution and the law.
What Mr Sharif actually said to a Beirut interviewer
“My message to the Arab people and my brothers and sisters in Bahrain: Hold on to the resistance for it will yield gains.
“And keep boycotting: it is working. Put pressure on the Arab governments to change their approach of surrender.” (Free Sharif Instagram)
