Bahrainis convicted overseas could be extradited to the kingdom to continue their prison sentences, a report said.

It comes as an urgent parliamentary proposal was initially approved yesterday and sent to the foreign affairs, defence and national security committee for further study and to the Foreign and Interior ministries for review, according to the report published in our sister newspaper the Gulf Daily News.

MPs urged the government to work on getting Bahraini prisoners abroad released wherever possible.

However, Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Abdulaziz Al Fadhel said the issue was complicated because some convicts were imprisoned for serious offences against certain countries.

"We are already retrieving Bahraini prisoners from other GCC countries under an agreement approved recently, but the issue with other countries is more difficult to deal with, despite having similar agreements with some countries," he said.

"Even with the GCC and other countries that we have reached agreements with, prisoners vary in their offences and they may have committed a severe crime against that country, which makes getting them back very difficult.

"Parliament has to sit with the Foreign and Interior ministries because they may have a different list (of prisoners abroad) than what parliament has."

He also revealed that efforts were already underway by both ministries to extradite some convicts abroad.

"There is progress in particular cases, while others have reached a deadlock. MPs or families of the inmates may have little information about what is going on, so they have to be made aware," he said." – TradeArabia News Service