Bahrain: Political Prisoners Freed as Protests Continue

At least 50 political prisoners have been freed including 23 Shi’a activists accused of plotting the overthrow of the king, in an attempt to acquiesce to the demands of anti-government protesters. Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Manama on Wedndesday, demanding greater political opportunities. The widow of one of the seven people killed in a crackdown on protesters read a statement outlining the opposition’s demands, which center on the current government’s resignation and the replacement of the ruling Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty with a constitutional monarchy. The statement also demanded a probe into the killings of peaceful protesters during government crackdowns last week.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,  added that the ”steps need to be followed by concrete actions and reform” and that there is no place for violence against peaceful protesters. State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, stated, “we commend the steps taken by King Hamad, as well as Crown Prince Salman and others, to restore calm to Bahrain, to allow peaceful demonstrations to take place… we view recent announcements to launch a national dialogue and the release of political prisoners as positive steps towards addressing the concerns of Bahraini citizens.

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