Bahrain wields travel curbs in crackdown on opponents - activists

A senior nurse Rula al-Saffar holds a banner with photos of Dr Ali al-Ekri and Ebrahim Demistani as she participates in an anti-government rally organized by Bahrain's main opposition party Al Wefaq in Budaiya, west of Manama, December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

DUBAI (Reuters) - After a border official stopped him leaving Bahrain last week, citing a security order, Mohammed al-Tajer said he checked with the departments in charge of passports and investigations and was told no travel ban was in place.

The 50-year-old lawyer, who had been planning a short visit to Saudi Arabia, was not surprised. He had joined a growing list of people confined to their country as part of what rights groups describe as an attempt to crush the opposition.