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Yesterday, SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR), in cooperation with the Bahrain Forum for Human Rights(BFHR), HUMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement, and MENA Rights Group, held a webinar addressing the issue of travel bans in Bahrain as a punishment imposed outside the judicial framework. It reviewed the psychological, social, economic and legal repercussions of this practice, as part of the launch of SALAM’s report on the matter in both Arabic and English.
The webinar was moderated by human rights activist Zainab Khamees, who stated that travel bans have shifted from an administrative measure to a tool of punishment and psychological, social, and economic pressure, stressing that a large number of those released under royal pardons remain banned from travel, particularly to Gulf countries. She alsocalled for lifting these restrictions on all affected individuals and enabling them to exercise their right to move freely and with dignity.
At the opening of the event, human rights defender Ebtisam Al-Saegh, representing SALAM DHR, announced the launch of the organization’s new report addressing this issue and its multiple consequences, citing her own personal experience of being banned from traveling to and entering Saudi Arabia for years up until now. Al-Saegh explained that such decisions are not based on any judicial ruling but rather issued by security agencies through administrative decrees circulated among Gulf countries, without formally or legally notifying those concerned.
For his part, Baqer Darwish, head of the BFHR, addressed the issue from an analytical perspective, emphasizing that travel ban decisions lack any legal basis, which prevents the possibility of challenging them before the judiciary. He noted that government agencies evade responsibility and shift blame between institutions, which he described as a deliberate strategy to obscure legal accountability. He also pointed out that transforming restrictions on freedom of movement into a punishment at the whim of even the most junior security official is a reminder of the problematic nature of the lack of judicial independence. He concluded by urging civil society to develop a comprehensive framework to address this practice and present it to the relevant bodies.
Meanwhile, Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha, human rights defender and researcher on discrimination issues, representing SALAMDHR, affirmed that imposing travel bans by the Ministry of Interior, the National Security Agency, or any other administrative body without a substantiated judicial decision constitutes a blatant violation of the principles of the rule of law and undermines judicial independence, thereby eroding citizens’ trust in state institutions. Al-Muhafdha explained that this practice represents a form of “soft repression” aimed at increasing the costs of engagement in civic, human rights, media, and critical work, to force individuals into the involuntary withdrawal from public activity, something he described as unrealistic and unattainable. He concluded by presenting a set of recommendations to the Bahraini authorities, including: abolishing security lists imposing travel bans, ensuring no punishment is enforced outside the law, holding accountable those responsible for such practices, and providing redress and compensation for the victims.
SALAM DHR affirms that the continued imposition of travel bans outside judicial frameworks constitutes a violation of international human rights standards and requires urgent action by the Bahraini authorities to reform these practices in a way that guarantees the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms. This requires amending the Code of Criminal Procedure to explicitly prohibit the issuance of travel bans except by a substantiated and publicly announced judicial order, and obligating the Public Prosecution and security bodies to publish periodic data and statistics on travel ban cases with clarification of the legal grounds for each case. The organization also urges individuals and human rights groups to submit individual complaints to the relevant international mechanisms, such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of movement and freedom of expression, and the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders.
