The Human Impact of Nationality Revocation: The Case
of Dr. Masaud M Jahromu
One of the reasons that na.onality
documents, and no country to be removed
revoca.on is such a powerful tool in the
to, places them and their dependants in a
hands of authoritarian regimes is that
posi.on of extreme precarity, at the mercy of
na.onality is a gateway right: na.onality
the very powers that have put them in this
makes it easier to access and enjoy other
situa.on through arbitrary means.
rights, and also facilitates access to jus.ce
when denied these rights. In prac.ce, by
The prac.ce leaves people unable to access
depriving someone of their ci.zenship, a
many basic services, from healthcare to
state can efficiently deny enjoyment of other
housing, finance, and educa.on. It means
rights: poli.cal, civil, social, economic, and
total exclusion from public life and has been
cultural. Further, their lack of na.onality (due
compared to social death. The prac.ce does
to revoca.on) can be used to jus.fy rights
not just affect individuals only, but en.re
viola.ons and build narra.ves of the
families, including children, who have been
individuals being foreign agents or traitors.
deprived of their na.onality by associa.on. It
Moreover, na.onality depriva.on, when
also affects future genera.ons: new-born
combined with the confisca.on of passports
children of those stripped of their na.onality
and other documents, can have the effect of
are at risk of statelessness and its
enforcing ‘illegality’ on the individual. Their
consequences, and their stateless status may
very existence, not as ci.zens who have a
in turn be inherited by their future
right to live in their country, but as stateless
descendants.
foreigners with no legal residence status, no
he and his family have been put through as a
Our research team spoke to Dr. Masaud M.
consequence of his na.onality being
Jahromi, who shared with us the ordeal that
arbitrarily revoked. Below is his story.
12 | Arbitrary Revoca.on of Na.onality in Bahrain - a Tool of Oppression
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