Examining the Crime of Persecution in Light of Bahrain Recent Events

February and March 2011 were witnesses to widespread peaceful demonstrations by thousands of Bahrainis, lots of them from Shiite majority, who sought political amendments and their right to self-determination. These protests are mostly similar to movements’ wave which has encompassed North Africa. The governing body of Sunnite minority in Bahrain has been trying to confront these protests through severe suppression during which it has been committed various kinds of maltreatments and violence against unarmed protesters especially those who are in Manama. In doing so, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, military trials and murder have been vastly committed by security forces. This article determining the definition of crime of “persecution” as a crime against humanity in international criminal law, has tried to prove this hypothesis that according to press and human rights reports, Bahrain events can reach the threshold of crime of persecution.