International Praise for the Royal Pardon

The King of Bahrain received a letter from the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, in which she expressed her appreciation of the royal pardon which was issued on the 11th of April 2009 regarding some individuals accused of security breaches. She stated that the pardon is an indicator of Bahrain’s continued efforts to fulfill its commitments within the frame-work of the reform program and through cooperation and dialogue. Pillay considered the royal pardon as an important step towards fulfilling Bahrain’s human rights commitments which was announced in the periodic review in 2008.

The Secretary General of Bahrain Human Rights Society, Abduallah Al Drazi, said that the royal pardon is welcomed by local, regional and international organizations, stating: ‘we hope that the pardon includes the detainees in both the Karazkan and Al Ma’meer cases, as these two cases have been delayed’.