RIYADH, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Hundreds of political prisoners have called off their hunger strike after Bahrain’s government promised to improve prison conditions, as the Gulf state’s crown prince heads to Washington to improve relations. announced by a human rights organization.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) announced that prisoners have agreed to suspend the strike, which began on August 7, until September 30 to allow promised changes to be implemented. .
Bahrain’s government announced in a statement to Reuters that the prisoners had ended their hunger strike.
“Prisoners on hunger strike have decided to end their hunger strike on September 11, 2023, due to restructured visiting hours, increased outdoor access, and increased number of contacts. “The decision was made,” the statement said. He said.
Bahraini activist and exile Saeed Ahmed al-Wadei said the government had shown some flexibility, adding that the proposed deal also included deisolating some prisoners.
But prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja resumed her hunger strike on Wednesday after authorities refused to allow her to attend a scheduled medical appointment, her daughter Zainab told Reuters.
The government denied that al-Khawaja was on a hunger strike, adding that he had “repeatedly and voluntarily refused to attend regular medical appointments.”
“Mr. Abdulhadi Al Khawaja’s health condition is stable and there are no serious concerns.”
Bahraini authorities did not respond to questions about whether the compromise was linked to the visit of Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to the United States.
But the newspaper said Bahrain looked forward to building ties during the crown prince’s official visit to Washington this week.
The Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa dynasty has largely faced little opposition since Riyadh sent troops to help crush the Arab Spring uprisings by mostly Shiite rebels in 2011. However, the hunger strike is the largest organized protest movement in recent years.
Bahrain was the only Gulf monarchy to face serious unrest during the Arab Spring protests, which continued in reduced numbers into 2013.
Report by Aziz El Yaakobi.Editing: Nick McPhee and Alex Richardson
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