Bahrain’s King Hamad orders reinstatement of citizenship of 551 convicts

JEDDAH: Bahrain’s King Hamad issued an order on Sunday to reinstate the citizenship of 551 convicts whose nationality had been revoked as per court rulings, reported the state news agency.
The royal decree is in line with the provisions of Article 24 of Law 58/2006 with respect to the Protection of the Community against Terrorist Acts, stipulating that rulings related to citizenship withdrawal will not be effective unless they are approved by the king.
King Hamad had already given directives to the competent authorities to evaluate the situation of convicts whose citizenship was revoked and take into account “the nature of crimes committed” before the final implementation of the court judgment.
“The study and evaluation of the situation of convicts should be based on criteria pertaining to the seriousness, impact and consequences of the crimes, as well as on the danger the convict may pose on national security,” Bahrain News Agency said in announcing the king’s decision.
King Hamad also instructed the minister of interior to study and evaluate the citizenship revocation rulings and to prepare a list of reinstatement beneficiaries. 
Authorities later will announce the names of those having their citizenship restored.
Last week, 138 people lost their citizenship in a mass trial.