Bahrain’s top news during the past 48 hours say a lot about the troubled country: glitzy races are welcome; experts on torture are not. Bahraini officials yesterday claimed that UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, had cancelled his upcoming visit “indefinitely”. Funnily enough, the special rapporteur has denied this claim, saying that the government has actually blocked his visit, which was set to take place next month. The Special Rapporteur said in a release today that officials claimed that his trip could potentially endanger the success of the country’s National Dialogue, which began earlier this year. Mendez said that the decision “does not enhance transparency with regard to the situation in the country nor demonstrate a commitment to redress [...]

Kim Kardashian flew into Bahrain’s capital today to launch the country’s first Millions of Milkshakes shop — but “sources” close to the reality TV star told TMZ that her trip to Kuwait and Bahrain is about more than promoting frozen drinks. According to the celebrity-stalking website, Kardashian wants to “use her celebrity to raise awareness about important issues in the area”, and while in Kuwait a few days ago she met with the US Ambassador to the country, Matthew Tueller. Before heading out to the region, Kardashian tweeted that the purpose of her trip was to “set the record straight”: According to TMZ, Kardashian will also be meeting with “local leaders”, but I have a feeling that won’t include human rights [...]

The Bahraini government has a funny definition of transparency. Despite flowery invitations made during my last visit to the troubled country, an IFEX-affiliated delegation  following up on our trip has been denied entry. Not entirely promising for a country that insists it is committed to “reform”. Last time we went, we were there for the presentation of report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). Officials highlighted the importance of international cooperation, but I’m guessing they felt that a Grand Prix or Air Show is the only way to secure that one. In meetings with officials, our delegation was promised transparency as long as we followed the rules. Technically, we didn’t follow them this time around: it’s a hard thing [...]

It looks like LMFAO’s party-rockin’ tour has been enlisted in whitewashing Bahrain’s human rights abuses. According to the state-owned Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the duo is set to perform in a free show for fans at the Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday. Bahrain has borrowed a favourite from the iPod of fellow protest-crusher Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad to help ensure that the race goes forward. Let’s recap: yesterday, ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces turned violent when stun grenades were fired at a demonstration outside of a cultural exhibition celebrating the upcoming race. Imprisoned hunger striker and activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja is now entering his 71st day on hunger strike, despite international outrage over his continued detention. While the BNA has been active [...]

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa recently secured an invite to Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee luncheon. According to the Daily Mail, the Queen invited King Hamad because it “would have been very rude to have left anyone off of the list.” Of course, the Queen would not want to suffer the embarrassment of singling out one despot, so she’s invited them all. Bahrain’s government has been working overtime to revamp their public image after last year’s brutal crackdown on popular protests left a rather inconvenient stain on its international reputation. While paying lip service to human rights and reform, unfulfilled promises have only brewed tension in what have now become almost daily face-offs between disillusioned protesters and security forces. It seems [...]