If one of us travels, checkpoints stand in his way and tell him to pay a bribe so he can go, and if he does not pay, then what?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. In countries other than this one, when a person wants to go to his country to visit his relatives, checkpoints stand in his way and tell him to pay a bribe, even if it is a small amount, and then he goes. If he does not pay, they delay him for an hour, two hours, or more until he suffers hardship and trouble, and they may even dump all his luggage. Is it permissible for him to pay the bribe to escape this hardship?

Answer:
Bribery is a major sin among the major sins. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who gives the bribe, the one who takes it, and the one who acts as an intermediary between them. So do not be lax in this matter. You can report these people to the authorities there; report them to the one who appointed them and placed them in this position. If you are unable to do so, ask the scholars in the country where these ills exist. As for us, we do not intervene in this. Yes.