Bahrain prisoners pause hunger strike ahead of crown prince's visit to US
An advocacy group in Bahrain says hundreds of prisoners on a hunger strike will suspend their protest while the crown prince is visiting the United States, provided their demands are met by the end of the month.
The strike will pause until Sept. 30 as some prisoners suffer health problems. / Photo: AP Archive
Hundreds of prisoners suspended their monthlong hunger strike in Bahrain, an advocacy group said, just ahead of a visit of the island nation's crown prince to the United States.
The strike will pause until Sept. 30 as some prisoners suffer health problems and to see if promised changes by Bahrain's government at the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center will materialise, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, an advocacy group.
The promised changes include limiting isolation, expanding visitor rights, extending the hours of daylight inmates have and improving health care at the prison, the group said. If the 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.
Bahrain's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.
The month-long hunger strike had been one of the longest sustained demonstrations of dissent in the decade since Bahrain, aided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, suppressed its 2011 Arab Spring protests.
Maryam al Khawaja, the daughter of the long-detained human rights activist Abdulhadi al Khawaja, plans 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, though she herself faces prison time in Bahrain, the home of the US Navy's 5th Fleet off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.
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