Sixty-four prisoners, including long-term political detainees who have spent around 14 years behind bars, have been allowed to return to their families from Bahrain's Jau Prison, marking the first substantial release of political prisoners since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
But the homecoming is temporary.
The prisoners have been granted leave until Friday, when their families will be required to return them to the authorities before they are transferred to the next stage of Bahrain's Open Prisons Programme in Hamala, Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), told The New Arab.
Some of those allowed home were underage when they were arrested around 14 years ago, Al-Wadaei said, making the brief reunions particularly significant for families who have spent more than a decade waiting for their return.
"This is not an unconditional release or a royal pardon," Al-Wadaei told The New Arab. "The Open Prisons Programme is a phased system through which prisoners serving lengthy sentences are gradually moved out of conventional prison conditions and eventually into the community under alternative sentencing arrangements and electronic monitoring."
Al-Wadaei initially announced the releases in a series of posts on X, saying that 110 prisoners had been enrolled in the programme in Building 11 of Jau Prison.
Of those, 64 were allowed to return to their families on Monday. Another 41 will continue the programme at Jau Prison, while five prisoners who had signed up have been removed from the programme and will be placed in other buildings in the prison complex, according to Al-Wadaei.
He also shared images of some of the prisoners after they returned home, including Hashem Mohsen al-Darazi, who is serving a 37-year sentence following his arrest in 2015.
The 64 are expected to remain with their families until Friday before entering the next stage of the programme in Hamala. From there, prisoners serving lengthy sentences are gradually moved towards alternative sentencing arrangements and electronic monitoring rather than conventional imprisonment.
For some families, the programme has meant the temporary return of relatives imprisoned since the upheaval that followed Bahrain's 2011 uprising.
"The group includes long-term political prisoners, some of whom were underage when they were arrested around 14 years ago," Al-Wadaei said. "For families who have waited around 14 years to have their loved ones home, even temporarily, it is an enormously significant moment."
First major release since Iran war
The timing of the move is also significant because it comes amid a wider crackdown in Bahrain since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Al-Wadaei stressed that the 64 prisoners were not among those recently detained in connection with the conflict. Instead, the group includes prisoners who have been incarcerated for years.
"However, the timing is significant," he said. "This represents the first substantial release of political prisoners since the conflict began and is an important step."
Bahrain holds hundreds of political prisoners, with Amnesty International saying that some 322 people remain arbitrarily detained.
They include prominent human rights activists imprisoned over their role in the 2011 protests, among them Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who has spent more than a decade behind bars and whose health has deteriorated during his detention.
Front Line Defenders, an Ireland-based human rights organisation, welcomed the news, though added that it is "troubled that human rights defenders like Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja remain excluded."
"Al-Khawaja has spent more than 15 years unlawfully imprisoned for his peaceful human rights work - 15 years too many," the group told The New Arab.
"We call on the Bahraini authorities to secure his immediate and unconditional release, along with that of all human rights defenders still behind bars."
Since the beginning of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Bahraini authorities have stepped up arrests over alleged links to Iran, anti-war protests and social media activity related to the conflict.
In May, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said it had arrested 41 people, including dozens of Shia clerics, accusing them of links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Rights groups documented more than 300 arrests connected to the war between the beginning of the conflict and 5 May.
Those detained included people accused over social media posts about the conflict, including footage showing strikes on Bahrain, as well as people who participated in protests against the war.
Bahrain has also stripped at least 69 people of their citizenship over their alleged support for Iran during the conflict.
Al-Wadaei described the temporary return of the 64 prisoners as an important development, while stressing that they remain under sentence and state supervision.
"We hope this will be followed by further releases and ultimately the unconditional release of all those imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights," he said.