Press Release
Published on August 28, 2026
Human Rights First today submitted a dossier of information to the Swedish police department dealing with international crimes, urging them to investigate Bahrain's Prince Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa, who is due to attend a horse racing event in Sweden this coming weekend.
Prince Nasser, the King's fourth son, has been accused of personally torturing people in 2011, including Swedish national Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, who remains one of Bahrain’s most prominent political prisoners.
“Torturers should be held accountable whoever they are, and Sweden should uphold international law. These are basic principles,” said Human Rights First’s Senior Advisor, Brian Dooley. “The Swedish government says human rights will permeate all of its foreign policy. Here is a chance to show it.”
In 2011, large-scale public protests calling for democratic reform in Bahrain were met with a brutal government crackdown, leaving thousands jailed and detained. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, commissioned by Bahrain’s King Hamad, confirmed the Bahrain government’s use of torture and other forms of physical and psychological violence in the crackdown. It detailed the torture of Swedish national Mohammad Habib Al-Muqdad in custody.
During this time, Prince Nasser took the lead in identifying and punishing athletes who participated in demonstrations, publicly calling for “accountability” for anyone who opposed the regime. Multiple survivors have in public statements and sworn testimony during judicial proceedings offered credible evidence of Nasser’s direct acts of torture.
In 2014, British courts ruled that Prince Nasser did not enjoy diplomatic immunity, despite being part of Bahrain’s ruling family. In 2023, Human Rights First formally recommended to the U.S. Department of State that it impose visa sanctions against Prince Nasser under the Section 7031(c) sanctions program, because of the credible allegations of torture against him. The previous year UK law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors also called on the British government to impose economic and visa sanctions against Prince Nasser.
Since 2011, Bahrain has made concerted efforts to suppress the torture allegations against Nasser and reconstruct his public image. Not only has he escaped any form of accountability, he has ascended to prominent positions, currently serving as Bahrain’s National Security Advisor and Commander of the Royal Guard. Nasser has also been a central figure in Bahrain’s well-known efforts to sportswash its human rights violations as founder and sponsor of various sporting events and national teams, including for cycling, triathlon, and equestrian.
Under Sweden's national legal framework on universal jurisdiction, its police and national courts have a duty to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed abroad by foreign nationals, including torture.
“Prince Nasser should never have been invited to Sweden, but now that he has been, the police should question him about these torture allegations,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley.
