King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain

BAHRAIN: KING TAKES ACTIVISTS BY SURPRISE WITH PARDON FOR AT LEAST 1,500 PRISONERS

May 22, 2024:

Bahrain has unconditionally released more than 1,500 prisoners, including political detainees, in the biggest royal pardon since the 2011 Arab spring uprising, The Guardian reported on April 9, 2024.
The amnesty followed years of campaigning inside the country and by international human rights groups but came as a complete surprise to activists.
Amnesty Bahrain said: “This is a welcome step. Many of [the prisoners] should not have been imprisoned in the first place.”
The releases were ordered by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, coinciding with Eid and the silver jubilee of the king taking power. The US embassy in Bahrain welcomed the move and expressed the hope that all those being released will be reunited with their families.
Many of the detainees have been held in Jau prison, where campaigners said more than 600 political prisoners remain, including some in need of urgent medical help. Recent riots inside prisons had made the expense of keeping so many behind bars a burden on the state.
The changes also represent a chance for Bahrain to improve its global image, increase foreign direct investment and encourage tourism. It followed a visit to Saudi Arabia by Bahrain’s crown prince, a visit that might have led to a Saudi endorsement of the move.
On social media, joyful scenes of families being reunited in their homes were screened, including some who had not been in their family home for as long as a decade.
But Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of advocacy at the British-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said: “This came as a complete shock. There had been no prior indication, and this is the most important release programme since 2011. The release is bittersweet as there are still 600 political prisoners behind bars and on death row.”
With two of his own brothers in law among the freed prisoners, Alwadaei said: “The releases coincide with a lot of unease inside Bahrain about the state’s support for Israel, but they coincide with significant unrest in Jau prison, where nearly a thousand political prisoners had refused to return to their cells over maltreatment.”