The strike cancellation comes ahead of the crown prince’s visit to the United States and as Bahrain vows to improve the situation.
Bahrain prisoners have called off a massive hunger strike for 36 days following promises of improved conditions from authorities in the Gulf monarchy, activists said.
Activists say at least 800 detainees have taken part in the strike, the largest in Bahrain’s history, and that the health of some prisoners is deteriorating.
Bahraini authorities said 121 prisoners took part.
Dozens of people have been holding scattered protests almost daily in support of the prisoners, in the wake of large-scale demonstrations that rocked the small island nation in 2011.
“The long-running hunger strike has been called off following serious concerns over the deteriorating health condition of a number of political prisoners,” Saeed Ahmed Alwadai, director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said in a statement. I’m relieved,” he said. on tuesday.
“Rather than forcing prisoners to resume their strike and risking their lives to ensure basic human rights, authorities must honor that pledge and act quickly to improve prison conditions. .”
Prisoners at Jau prison, where dissidents are being held when authorities cracked down on protests in 2011, are subject to 23-hour solitary confinement and restrictions on prayer, according to BIRD and banned rebels. .
“Please retaliate against us.”
One of the prisoners is Saeed Sajjad, who has been detained since September 2013 and is one of the inmates in negotiations with prison authorities.
He told Human Rights First that prison authorities “are treating us in a spirit of revenge.”
“I have been on a hunger strike for 33 days and several hours. I feel weak and sometimes I can’t see clearly,” he said.
“Our strength comes from knowing that if we stop now, prison administrators will retaliate against us in a way worse than the current situation. I will take severe revenge.”
Two prisoners on hunger strike talk about their experiences and conditions at Bahrain’s Jaw Prison.
“Our strength lies in knowing that if we stop now, the prison administration will retaliate against us in a way worse than the current situation. They will take revenge on us. will do…
— Bird (@BirdBahrain_) September 11, 2023
Bahrain Government Prisons says strike will be suspended until September 30 to see if changes promised by Bahrain Government Prisons materialize as some prisoners have health problems BIRD conveyed.
Promised changes include limiting isolation, expanding visitor rights, increasing daylight hours for inmates and improving medical care in prisons. If changes are not implemented, the strike will resume, the group added.
The cancellation of the hunger strike, which had sparked concerns from the US government, comes at a time of international scrutiny, with a team from the UN human rights office in Geneva scheduled to visit this week.
According to BIRD, the country’s crown prince is scheduled to meet with senior officials in Washington in the coming days.
The group said the strike was called off late Monday after a meeting between prison officials, the Home Office and inmate groups.
Mariam al-Khawaja, the daughter of long-detained human rights defender Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is scheduled to travel to Bahrain in the coming days with activists including the head of Amnesty International. She plans to advocate for her father’s release, but she herself faces a prison sentence in Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Since Bahrain crushed the protests with support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it has imprisoned Shiite activists, deported others, stripped hundreds of citizenship, and The newspaper was discontinued.
In 2020, Bahrain formally normalized relations with Israel, and last November, Bahrain hosted Pope Francis’ second visit to the Gulf Arab country.