Manama: Bahrain has suspended the jail sentences against two mothers, Zainab Al Khawaja and Arina Bajtova, following a recommendation from the Ombudsman office.
Acting Attorney General of the Public Prosecution office, Abdul Rahman Al Sayyed, said that the recommendation was issued following a visit by members from the Ombudsman’s office to the mothers serving sentences.
Al Khawaja had a 16-month-old son and Bajtova had a four-year son with them in the prison.
Al Sayyed said that despite the appropriate care provided for the children and their mothers, the Ombudsman’s office recommended in its report the suspension of the jail sentence amid concerns about psychological repercussions on the children.
“Based on the recommendation, the public prosecution presented the case to the judge in charge of the execution of the jail sentence for review,” Al Sayyed was quoted by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) as saying. “The judge ordered the suspension of the sentence and the release of the two mothers on humanitarian grounds and out of compassion for the well-being of the children.”
