Take action for Enas Oun and HRDs in Bahrain

Your Excellency,

On 22 August 2016, human rights defender Ms Enas Oun was banned from travelling to Tunisia from Bahrain International Airport.

Enas Oun is the head of Monitoring and Documentation Unit at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).

The human rights defender was travelling to Tunis on 22 August 2016 to participate in a human rights workshop, when she was informed by officials at Bahrain International Airport that the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation had ordered a travel ban against her on 21 August 2016. The human rights defender was not formally notified of this order nor its reasons 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, 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 United Nations Human Right Council session and to participate in a side event on the situation of human rights in Bahrain. Human rights defenders Mr Abdulnabi Al-Ekry and journalist Ms Nazeeha Saeed were also prevented from travelling in June. On 7 July 2016, journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Radhi was prevented from travelling to Oman.

I express concern for the travel ban imposed against Enas Oun and I believe that it is solely motivated by her 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 on Enas Oun and guarantee full respect for her right to freedom of movement;

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