On 2 February 2012, United Arab Emirates human rights defender Mr Ahmad Mansour was stopped at Kuwait city airport and denied entry into the country. Mr Ahmad Mansour is a blogger who has been active in demanding political reform in the UAE.

He was detained in April 2011 following a police raid on his home before being released in November 2011 under a Presidential amnesty. Prior to his arrest, he had received death threats as part of a smear campaign against him, as well as a threat to be transferred from his job in the UAE.

On 2 February 2012, Ahmad Mansour was detained at Kuwait city airport as he travelled from the the Emirate of Sharija accompanied by fellow human rights defender and lawyer Mr Abdelhamid Al Kumaiti. Ahmad Mansour was kept waiting for several hours before being denied entry into Kuwait. Abdelhamid Al Kumaiti was allowed entry to Kuwait, however he decided not to proceed with his trip as a gesture of solidarity with Ahmad Mansour .

At the airport, Ahmad Mansour was interrogated about his activities, beliefs, political orientation, his thoughts on secularism and liberalism as well as on his opinion regarding the situation in Kuwait. He was also asked about the names and nationality of his wife and children and the reason for his visit to Kuwait. During the interrogation the state security officers referred to the human rights defender’s imprisonment in the UAE saying that it was due to his involvement in a state security crime, however no official reason was given as to why he was being denied entry.

Ahmad Mansour used his ID card to travel as his passport is still being held unlawfully by the UAE authorities following his detention last year. Citizens belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are allowed to travel freely within the region using their IDs in lieu of passports.

Despite his release under the Presidential amnesty, the charges brought against Ahmad Mansour of “publicly insulting” officials have not yet been dropped, and it is thought that his imprisonment and his subsequent sentencing to 3 years in prison may have been regarded by the Kuwaiti authorities to be a criminal offence warranting his barring from Kuwait. Kuwait and other GCC member states are bound by security and other agreements that can lead to violations of citizens' human rights in the region.

Ahmad Mansour and four other UAE human rights defenders, widely known as the UAE5, were charged in early June 2011 under Articles 176 and 8 of the UAE penal code, which makes it a crime to publicly insult the country’s top officials, after they posted statements on the internet forum UAE Hewar. None of the messages posted by the accused to the banned site did more than criticize government policy or political leaders.

Front Line Defenders deplores the Kuwaiti authorities' decision to deny Ahmad Mansour entry to Kuwait despite having the requisite documents that allow him to enter the country. Front Line Defenders believes that the denial of entry to Ahmad Mansour is related to his activities as a human rights defender.

Front Line Defenders calls on the Kuwaiti authorities to allow Ahmad Mansour to exercise his right of movement as a citizen of a GCC member state by withdrawing the denial of entry imposed on him, as it is believed that this denial is solely related to his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights.