Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she is to meet with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to advocate for the safe return to Australia of Mr Hakeem Al-Araibi.

Radha Stirling, the founder of Detained in Dubai, said: “Great news that Thailand has allowed the UN to assess Rahaf rather than sending her back to the country from which she was seeking asylum. Thailand needs to allow Hakeem to return to Australia and stop Bahrain’s legal abuse.”

Just as the political decision in Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia, now the economic decision depends on Riyadh’s conditions as well after a new grant worth 10 billion dollars was provided to the island kingdom.

Bahraini newspapers expressed concern on Tuesday (January 8, 2019) over the news of discharging PM Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa from the hospital after treatment for the flu.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa ordered that an Assistant Undersecretary from a ministry that provides public services be referred to the Public Prosecution to verify his academic record.

An 18-year-old Saudi woman seeking asylum has left Bangkok airport "under the care" of the UN refugee agency, a Thai official said Monday, following her desperate plea against deportation.

Bahraini authorities reported that they arrested on September 8, 2018, 14 Iranians who allegedly entered the country using forged Asian passports and fake names. This was the first time such an allegation was made.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) named 2018 as a death penalty year, condemning the Bahraini judiciary’s determination in issuing death sentences, which have reached 35 since 2011, 3 of which were executed.

Former Al-Wefaq MP Ali Al-Aswad commented on the tax imposed on electricity and water saying that there is no horizon for solving problems, faced in the country, with old government.

Courts in the Gulf and Egypt have upheld jail terms against leading activists in a crackdown on protesting through social media, marking a somber end to 2018 for rights campaigners.

A Saudi woman held at Bangkok airport said she would be killed if she was repatriated by Thai immigration officials, who confirmed the 18-year-old was denied entry to the country Sunday.

The Electricity and Water Authority confirmed that it will levy VAT on invoices as of January. This comes at a time of increasing voices rejecting the government's taxation policy.

On April 25, 2018, the Military Cassation Court in Bahrain upheld death sentences against 4 Bahrainis over charges of attempting to assassinate Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force, Marshal Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. It was the strangest charge issued since the eruption of protests in 2011.

Illness put an end to the house arrest imposed on the spiritual leader of the Shia in Bahrain, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, since May 23, 2017, when the authorities forcibly dispersed a sit-in that was held around his house for about a year, leaving five martyrs.

Ali Mushaima, son of prominent opposition leader Hasan Mushaima, launched a hunger strike for 46 days and slept on the ground in front of the Bahraini Embassy in London.

The United Nations human rights office called on Bahrain on Friday to release activist Nabeel Rajab, saying that the upholding of his five-year jail sentence by the top court this week showed "continued suppression of government critics".

The European Union condemned the Court of Cassation of Bahrain decision upholding the five-year sentence against human rights defenders Nabeel Rajab.

On February 18, 2018, the martyrdom of 3 Bahraini wanted by security authorities was announced. The 3 died at sea while attempting to flee to Iran. Meanwhile, a fourth accompanying them was announced missing.

Australian football player Craig Foster said in a tweet that "Day [yesterday] 38 of detention for Hakeem Al-Araibi," urging to write to president of FIFA, president of Asian Football Confederation, Prime Minister of Thailand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Prime Minister of Australia and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia to support Al-Araibi's case.

The Washington Post newspaper said that courts in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on Monday upheld the convictions of two prominent human rights activists Nabeel Rajab and Ahmed Mansoor.