Bahrain Mirror: The security authorities in Bahrain released the last female prisoner of conscience, who has been serving a five-year prison sentence since 2018 for her political activities.

Zakia Al-Barboury was released on Monday (April 26, 2021), a day after prominent Shiite cleric Abdullah Al-Gharifi and a number of Shiite religious scholars met with the country's king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Zakia Al-Barboury is a 30-year-old chemical engineer accused of being a member of the banned Islamist "Al-Wafaa" movement, which was founded by the prominent opposition figure, Abdelwahab Hussein, to demand democratic transition of power.

Al-Barboury was also stripped of her citizenship in 2019, which was later reinstated in the same year by a royal order.

The authorities had released 13 prisoners serving different sentences in the women's prison in Isa Town over their political activities last year, but they kept Al-Barboury in custody, ignoring calls for her release.

On Sunday (April 25, 2021), the authorities decided to release her, following a meeting that brought together a delegation of Shiite religious scholars and the king to offer congratulations on the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan. According to information leaked from this meeting, which was also attended by ministers of interior and royal court, King Hamad promised the delegation to release her.

Arabic Version