David Isaksson, CEO of the Swedish consultancy firm Global Reporting, was today denied entry to Bahrain despite the fact that EU citizens can get visa on arrival. The reason given was that Global Reporting is a company working with communication and development issues and that David Isaksson was thus suspected of planning to meet with opposition and human rights activists in the country.

“I am currently travelling to 50 countries around the world where I have not yet been before, asking people about happiness. This was also the main reason for my visit to Bahrain”, David Isaksson says, adding:

“Obviously, happiness is a dangerous word in Bahrain today”.

David Isaksso spent about eight hours at the aiirport of Bahrain before having to board a plane back to Dubai.

Find out more about the Happiness project at www.globalhappiness.se follow David Isaksson on twitter at @davidglobal

Amnesty International, Reporters without borders and several other international organisations are criticising  Bahrain for it’s human rights abuses. Recently, Amnesty has called for a halt on dentation, abuse and torture of children in Bahrain.

Read more at

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/bahrain-halt-detention-abuse-and-torture-children-2013-12-13

Read also the story about what happened at the airport: http://www.globalhappiness.se/content/can-you-be-happy-bahrain