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A total of 804 political prisoners incarcerated in Jaw prison in south-eastern Bahrain have been on a hunger strike since August 7, 2023, protesting against poor conditions in the prison. The movement has inspired calls for the prisoners’ release and for King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, who has ruled as king since 2002, to step down. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to two prisoners’ relatives.
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4 min
It’s the largest and longest hunger strike in the kingdom’s history. Since August 7, 804 political prisoners have declared a hunger strike to protest poor detention conditions. Nearly one-third of all inmates in Jaw prison, in south-eastern Bahrain, are participating in the strike. Their principal demands include more time out of their cells – currently limited to one hour per day – as well as access to proper medical care and the right to hold prayers in dedicated spaces.
According to Sayed al-Wadaei of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), a UK-based NGO that closely monitors the situation of striking prisoners, the majority of strikers “are imprisoned mainly for their political views or for carrying out activities of a political nature, often for daring to take part in the popular uprising in 2011”.
Bahrain was the site of massive protests in 2011, aimed initially at extending political freedoms to the Shia population (70 percent of the population), before turning into an uprising calling for an end to the Sunni monarchy. With military assistance from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, the Bahraini authorities violently suppressed the protests.
‘We learned that his most recent medical visit to hospital was cancelled due to the lack of an ambulance’
Maryam al-Khawaja is the daughter of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a Bahraini opposition figure known for his support of the 2011…
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