Manama: King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has granted Bahraini citizenship to a leading Shiite religious figure and his family.
"King Hamad granted Bahraini citizenship to Husain Mirza Abdul Baqi Mohammad Abdul Razzaq, known as Najati, and to his family, and they will be given passports after their legal status was corrected," Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said on Wednesday.
Reports that the government was giving Najati, the Bahrain representative of Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, and his family, citizenship first surfaced on September 17 and came in for criticism from the media, which claimed it was in violation of the citizenship and passports laws of the country.
"Should he and his family want to acquire Bahraini nationality legally, they should submit applications that will be assessed according to the normal legal procedures," the ministry said.
However, three days later, the government body announced in a statement that Najati and his family had not been given Bahraini citizenship as a result of an administrative error and that they needed to resubmit their applications.
