MANAMA (Dispatches) -- 
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates escalated separate crackdowns on dissent over Thursday and Friday, with Bahrain rearresting pardoned political prisoners and the UAE prosecuting dozens of foreign nationals over social media posts linked to the ongoing regional war.
Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said Thursday that Bahraini authorities have rearrested at least nine men who had previously been released from prison under royal pardons, including prominent human rights defender Naji Fateel. 
The men were arrested in July and August 2026 over alleged unpaid fines dating back a decade, tied to a 2015 protest at Jau Prison. 
The organizations said authorities had contacted them in June about outstanding fines without clarifying the legal basis or amount, and received no meaningful response to requests for clarification.
The rearrests come amid what rights groups describe as one of the largest crackdowns on expression and assembly since 2011. 
Since March, Bahraini authorities have arrested over 600 people on charges including “supporting a state hostile to Bahrain,” and at least 69 people of Iranian descent have been stripped of their nationality, including children.
Separately, more than 60 Shia clerics appeared before Bahraini courts this week, with proceedings reportedly held via video link and marked by allegations of torture and coerced confessions. The trial was adjourned to October 11.
Abu Dhabi police announced Friday that 109 people of various nationalities were arrested for filming attack sites and disseminating “misleading information” on social media amid the war. 
The UAE Public Prosecution warned that filming or publishing footage of attacks carries a minimum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of at least 100,000 dirhams.
A separate batch of legal actions targeted 35 individuals, including 19 Indian nationals, over posts related to the West Asia war; they face potential one-year sentences and heavy fines. 
Authorities categorized the offenses into posting original attack footage, creating AI-generated videos, and uploading content promoting military aggression.
The UAE’s cybercrime law allows prosecution not only for original posting but also for sharing, editing, or even commenting on such content.