Take Action for Abdulnabi Al-Ekry

Your Excellency,

On the morning of Saturday 18 June 2016, human rights defender Mr Abdulnabi Al-Ekry was banned from travelling to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from Bahrain International Airport.

Abdulnabi Al-Ekry is a well-known human rights defender and political writer in Bahrain. He is the Director General of the National Centre for Studies and previously served as the President of the Bahrain Transparency Society. He is also a member of the Bahrain Human Rights Observatory (BHRO)  and Bahrain Society for Human Rights.

The human rights defender was travelling to the Emirate of Sharjah on 18 June 2016 when he was informed by officials at Bahrain International Airport that the public prosecution had ordered a travel ban against him on 9 June 2016. The human rights defender however was not formally notified of this order and has yet to be informed of any further action to be taken.

Travel ban orders have recently been used to curtail the activities of human rights defenders in Bahrain. On 12 June 2016, as the UNHRC convened, Bahraini security forces prevented three human rights defenders, Mr Hussain Radhi, Ms Ebtisam Al-Saegh and Mr Ibrahim Al-Demistani from travelling to Geneva from Bahrain International Airport to attend the UNHRC and to participate in a side event on the situation of human rights in Bahrain. Their travel bans had also been ordered on 9 June 2016.

I express concern for the travel ban imposed against Abdulnabi Al-Ekry and believe that it is solely motivated by his peaceful and legitimate activities in the defence of human rights in Bahrain.

I urge the authorities in Bahrain to:

1. Immediately lift the travel ban against human rights defenders Abdulnabi Al-Ekry as well as Hussain Radhi, Ebtisam Al-Saegh and Ibrahim Al-Demistani;

2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Bahrain are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities, nationally and internationally, without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

Sincerely,