Bahrain Mirror: 17 US senators called for the release of American prisoners detained in a number of states and release of political prisoners in authoritarian countries, including Bahrain.

The senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to pressure the authoritarian governments to release political prisoners at risk of Coronavirus.

"Detention facilities are a fertile breeding ground for COVID-19, with rampant overcrowding, lack of basic hygiene, ill-equipped medical facilities, and poor health conditions," they said.

The senators wrote "Authoritarian regimes around the world continue to detain tens of thousands of political prisoners in the middle of this pandemic, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain," indicating that these countries continue to jail independent voices in an effort to silence them. "These prisoners of conscience should be immediately released on humanitarian grounds," they added.

The signatories stated "In the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the health and safety of unjustly detained Americans and political prisoners is critical."

Arabic Version