The Emir of Bahrain Shaikh Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa issued Tuesday a decree pardoning what is said to be the last batch of political prisoners.
According to the Bahraini official news agency (GNA), cases related to 16 convicts have been dropped one day ahead of referendum on a national charter.
The emir has just ordered the release of the last political prisoners and detainees in Bahrain," Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, a Shiite cleric and opposition leader, told AFP.
"This measure, coming on the eve of the referendum, puts an end to the presence of political detainees or prisoners in the jails of Bahrain," the prominent opposition figure said.
A senior opposition figure was quoted by AFP Monday that the last political prisoners were expected to go free within 24 hours in line with a general amnesty, but he gave their number as 19.
The emir declared the amnesty last week, releasing on parole 289 political prisoners and allowing the return of 108 exiles, in the run-up to the two-day referendum – Albawaba.com
