17 March 2026: PEN International, together with a coalition of human rights organisations, wrote to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain, urging the release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace, a 64-year-old human rights defender imprisoned for fifteen years for his pro-democracy activism. The letter highlights his deteriorating health due to denial of medical care, including delayed surgery and lack of physiotherapy, and his hunger strikes protesting the confiscation of his manuscripts and research. The organisations call on Bahraini authorities to release Dr Al-Singace, provide adequate healthcare, and return his confiscated work, noting that his release ahead of Eid Al-Fitr would be a meaningful act of compassion and reconciliation amid ongoing regional turmoil.
Your Majesties,
We are writing to respectfully urge Your Majesties to order the release of human rights defender Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace, who has now completed fifteen years of arbitrary imprisonment while serving a life sentence for his role in the pro-democracy movement.
Bahrain is currently facing unprecedented challenges as the regional conflict intensifies. The country has been subjected to multiple attacks and its airspace has been closed. At such a difficult time for the nation, acts that promote compassion, unity, and reconciliation are more important than ever. The release of Dr Al-Singace and others imprisoned for their human rights work and political views would send an important message during this difficult time.
Dr Al-Singace, now 64 years old, has been held in medical facilities since July 2021 and is currently detained at Muharraq Specialised Health Care Centre. He began a hunger strike in protest of the confiscation of his manuscripts and academic research. Since then, he has survived primarily on liquid intake, including multivitamin supplements. At times, he has resorted to full hunger strikes to protest the denial of medication and access to specialised medical treatment.
In November 2025, the UN Committee against Torture expressed serious concerns regarding his ongoing detention and urged Bahrain to release Dr Al-Singace, alongside fellow human rights defenders Hassan Mushaima and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
We remain deeply concerned that Dr Al-Singace continues to suffer from the systematic denial of adequate medical care. For example, since 2021, he has experienced severe shoulder pain. After prolonged delays in obtaining a proper diagnosis, he finally received an MRI scan last year and doctors advised that surgery is required. However, there has been no indication as to when this operation will take place. He also continues to be denied physiotherapy despite his disability. These medical concerns should be addressed without further delay.
With Eid Al-Fitr approaching, an occasion traditionally marked by royal pardons, we respectfully ask that Dr Al-Singace be included among those pardoned. In the meantime, we urge Your Majesties to ensure that he is held in conditions that meet international standards, receives his medication without delay, and has access to adequate healthcare in compliance with medical ethics. We also urge the relevant authorities to facilitate the return of his confiscated research to his family at the earliest opportunity.
At a time when the region is experiencing profound turmoil, the release of political prisoners, including Dr Al-Singace, would offer a meaningful gesture of compassion and help ease the suffering felt by many families in Bahrain.
Yours sincerely,
- ALQST for Human Rights
- ARTICLE 19
- Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
- Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
- The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Committee on Academic Freedom
- CIVICUS
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- DAWN
- English PEN
- The Free Al-Khawaja Campaign
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- PEN International
- Reprieve
- Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (DHR)
- Scholars at Risk
- Wales PEN Cymru
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 