Tourist Law Saves Pianist from Conviction and Deportation

TDT | Manama

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A pianist and a hotel owner accused of providing services and working without permits have been acquitted by the Lower Criminal Court. The acquittal follows an appeal against an initial ruling that imposed fines and deportation.

According to their lawyer, Abdulatheem Abbas Hubail, the Public Prosecution had charged the defendants with violating labour laws based on a report filed by a labour market regulator inspector on June 19, 2024.  

The initial ruling fined the defendants—the hotel owner, a singer, and the pianist—and ordered their deportation. The singer and pianist were charged with working with permits, while the hotel owner was indicted of employing the duo illegally. He was fined BD2000, but the other defendants received fines worth BD10 each.

The singer didn't appeal the sentence, but the duo decided to challenge it, arguing that their work fell under the jurisdiction of tourism laws, not labour laws.  

Hubail argued that the employment of foreign artists in Bahrain is governed by Ministerial Decree No. (2) of 1993, which classifies the engagement of foreign artists as a tourism service, subject to tourism regulations rather than labour regulations.

The lawyer emphasised that the initial charges were based on the inspector's report, which claimed the singer and pianist worked without permits.  However, Hubail presented evidence that the pianist held a valid work permit issued by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA).

The court, after reviewing the evidence, determined that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient to prove the charges. The court acknowledged that the defendants' work fell under the purview of tourism law, not labour law.

Consequently, the court accepted the appeal, overturning the initial ruling, and acquitted the hotel owner and the pianist.  As a result, the Court confirmed the singer's fine, but cancelled her deportation order.