DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Hundreds of prisoners in Bahrain have called off a month-long hunger strike, an advocacy group said Tuesday, just ahead of the visit of Bahrain’s crown prince to the United States.
According to the advocacy group Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, some prisoners are suffering from health problems and to see if reforms promised by the Bahraini government to the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center materialize. , the strike has been suspended until September 30th.
The group said the 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 linked the decision to Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s visit to Washington this week. He is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday to sign a security and economic agreement.
Bahrain’s government acknowledged the suspension of the hunger strike in a statement to The Associated Press, but insisted it was over for good after weeks of trying to downplay the protests and the number of prisoners taking part. The department said the suspension came after “visiting hours were reorganized, outdoor access hours were increased, and the number of available contacts was increased.”
1 month long hunger strike It was one of the longest protests in the decade since Bahrain violently cracked down on Arab Spring protests in 2011 with help from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Maryam al-Khawaja, daughter of long-term detained human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, said: He plans to travel to Bahrain with activists in the next few days. Including the head of Amnesty International. She plans to advocate for her father’s release, but she herself will serve her sentence in Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.