The Return of Denaturalization and Forced Deportation Notices: A Dangerous Escalation and an Unlawful Collective Punishment

The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) expresses its strong condemnation of the decision to revoke the citizenship of 24 individuals on the basis of their expression of opinion. The impact of this decision has been extended to their families, bringing the total number of citizens stripped of their nationality as of 27 April 2026 to 69. This measure constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights and marks a return to a policy that has previously been found to be inconsistent with Bahrain’s international obligations.

Sources informed BFHR that 25 citizens were summoned on Tuesday. They left the office of the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs after their Bahraini passports and official identity cards were confiscated. They were required to sign undertakings to report to the passport office when called, in order to receive travel documents for the purpose of forced deportation, and were required to bear the cost of their travel tickets.

BFHR affirms that the right to nationality is guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and may not be restricted or withdrawn except in accordance with strict standards that prohibit arbitrariness. However, the broad language used to justify these decisions—such as “harming national interests” or “breach of loyalty”—lacks legal precision and allows for selective application that is inconsistent with the principle of the rule of law.

In this context, the revocation of nationality goes beyond a regulatory measure and takes on the character of collective punishment, particularly given its extension to family members. This expansion violates the principle of individual responsibility and undermines the protections afforded to family life and privacy under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The decision also raises serious concerns about the absence of basic fair trial guarantees, as these measures are imposed through administrative procedures without allowing individuals to effectively challenge them, review the evidence against them, or defend themselves before an independent judicial body. This lack of due process renders the decision inherently arbitrary, regardless of its official characterization.

BFHR rejects the characterization of citizenship revocation as a “sovereign” or “preventive” measure. It notes that international law recognizes that state sovereignty in matters of nationality is limited by the obligation not to violate fundamental rights, as well as by the principles of necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination. Measures of such gravity cannot be justified merely by reference to vague or unspecified security considerations.

Moreover, linking citizenship to the concept of “loyalty” is inconsistent with the modern legal understanding of nationality. Nationality is a stable legal bond between the individual and the state, not a conditional privilege that can be withdrawn on the basis of non-transparent political or security assessments.

BFHR warns that these measures may lead to statelessness or deepen patterns of discrimination. This concern is heightened by a prior record in which citizenship was revoked from hundreds of individuals, before some of those decisions were later reversed, underscoring the fragility of their legal basis.

BFHR also rejects comparisons used to justify these policies by reference to practices in other countries, noting that in democratic systems, similar measures are subject to strict judicial oversight and clear standards to prevent arbitrariness—conditions that are absent in the present case.

Accordingly, the Bahrain Forum for Human Rights calls for:

•          The immediate repeal of all citizenship revocation decisions

•          The unconditional restoration of nationality to all those affected

•          An end to the use of denaturalization as a tool of punishment or deterrence

•          Full compliance with international human rights standards

BFHR also urges the international community and United Nations bodies to closely monitor these developments and to take concrete steps to ensure that Bahrain complies with its international obligations.