SCHOLARS AT RISK

N E T W O R K

Via email to: info@mofa.gov.bh

Via fax to: +973 1-753-6343

His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa

Prime Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
P.O. Box 547
Government Road
Manama
Kingdom of Bahrain

March 3, 2016

Re: Dr. Masaud Jahromi

Your Excellency:

I write again on behalf of the Scholars at Risk Network with regard to Professor Masaud
Jahromi, former Chairman of Telecommunication Engineering Department at Ahlia University,
Manama, Bahrain. In advance of his upcoming March 6 hearing, we wish to express our grave
concern for Professor Jahromi, whose Bahraini citizenship was revoked last year, and to
respectfully urge you to intervene to ensure that his citizenship is reinstated, in accordance with
international human rights standards.

We wrote previously regarding Professor Jahromi’s situation on February 12, 2015; December
20, 2011; November 1, 2011 and August 16, 2011.

Professor Jahromi holds a PhD in Telecommunication Networking from the University of Kent
at Canterbury in the United Kingdom, and he was Chairman of the Telecommunication
Engineering Department at Ahlia University, where he had worked for ten years. Professor
Jahromi was arrested in April of 2011, after reportedly participating in a peaceful pro-democracy
protest and signing on to a statement along with other academics supporting a call for dialogue
between the government and the protesters—nonviolent expressive and associative activity that
is expressly protected by international human rights standards. In spite of this, in January 2012,
a Bahraini court found Professor Jahromi guilty of the crimes of “incitement to hatred of a
regime and/or participation in unauthorized rallies.” He was sentenced to four months in prison,
which he served. Following his release, Professor Jahromi resumed his position at Ahlia
University. As of this date, no other information is available about any additional arrests or
allegations against Professor Jahromi.

On January 31, 2015, Professor Jahromi learned through media reports that he, along with 71
other individuals, had his Bahraini citizenship revoked by the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry
of Interior’s statement alleged that the revocation was “for illegal acts”, including supporting and
participating in terrorist activities, as well as “[s]pying for foreign countries and recruiting a
number of persons through social media”, “[d]efaming the image of the regime, inciting against

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the regime and spreading false news to hinder the rules of the constitution”, “[i]nciting and
advocating regime change through illegal means”, and “[d]efaming brotherly countries.”

The decree was reportedly instituted without court proceedings or other due process, effectively
rendering the majority of its targets stateless, including Professor Jahromi.

We would of course welcome any additional or contrary information you might share which will
help us to understand the situation more fully. Absent this, the facts as described appear to
constitute violations of internationally recognized human rights and standards of due process,
fair trial, and freedom of expression and association, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain
has acceded. In addition, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly protects the right
of individuals to be free from arbitrary deprivations of their nationality.

We therefore respectfully urge you to intervene in Professor Jahromi’s situation and to ensure
that the matter of his citizenship is addressed in a manner consistent with internationally
recognized standards of due process and fair trial, in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations
under international law.

We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Robert Quinn
Executive Director

CC:

His Majesty Shaikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa

King of Bahrain
Office of His Majesty the King
P. O. Box 555
Rifa’a Palace, Kingdom of Bahrain
Fax: + 973 1766-8884

His Excellency Dr. Majid Bin Ali Al Nuaimi

Minister of Education
Ministry of Education Building
Al Istiklal Street
P.O. Box 43
Isa City, Kingdom of Bahrain
Fax: +973 1768-7866
Email: moe.relations@bahrain.gov.bh
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His Excellency Mr. Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh

Chairman of Shura Council
c/o Bahrain Shura Council
P.O. Box 2991
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: info@shura.bh
Fax: +973 1771-4583

Professor Mansoor Ahmed Alaali

President, Ahlia University
P.O. Box 10878
1st Floor
Gosi Complex, Exhibitions Road
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: malaali@ahlia.edu.bh
Fax: +973 1729-0083

The Honorable John F. Kerry

United States Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520, USA
Fax: +1 202-647-1579

The Honorable Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org
Fax: +41 22-917-9220

The Honorable Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa

Kingdom of Bahrain Ambassador to the United States
3502 International Drive NW
Washington, DC 20008, USA
Email: ambsecretary@bahrainembassy.org
Fax: +1 202-362-2192

The Honorable Thomas C. Krajeski

United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain
Building No. 979
Road 3119, Block 331
Zinj District
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: ManamaPAO@state.gov
Fax: +973 1727-0547