Bahrain’s King has issued a royal pardon for 630 inmates to mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, but political prisoners were excluded from the releases, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).
Last night at 10:58 PM (Bahrain local time), Bahrain’s state media outlet announced that “The royal pardon includes individuals convicted in various offences who have served part of their sentences, in addition to a number of individuals under alternative sentencing.”
However, information received by BIRD from family members of political prisoners and a source familiar with the release confirmed that political prisoners were excluded.
BIRD estimates that 322 political prisoners remain in Jau Prison, including leading opposition activists imprisoned for their role in the 2011 Uprising and individuals on death row, who remain at imminent risk of execution.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Advocacy Director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, stated:
“This is the second royal pardon in a row to exclude political prisoners. It sends a chilling message to their families, who were given false hopes of Eid releases.
King Hamad, the ultimate decision-maker in Bahrain, has chosen to keep political prisoners behind bars as a reminder of his brutal and authoritarian rule. In doing so, he has deliberately prolonged the crisis and deepened the suffering of their families.”
