A meeting was held in Baghdad Dec. 22, 2018, to announce the opening of a Bahraini opposition office. The February 14 Youth Coalition is a Bahraini political movement that emerged on social media in 2014. The movement called on Bahrainis to protest and hold sit-ins against the Bahraini government in light of the absence of rights and freedoms. Bahrain classified the movement as a terrorist group.
An official at the February 14 Youth Coalition who spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity believes the Bahraini opposition opened a branch in Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad, because it enjoys many privileges there. This includes more freedoms and significant positive interaction with the Bahraini opposition. “Baghdad represents our second homeland as a revolutionary and political opposition,” the official said.