Bahrain News Agency said King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered Wednesday that Hussein Al-Najati and his family be returned their passports “after correcting their status.”

Al-Najati, the Bahrain representative for Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, was stripped of citizenship by the king in September in a sweep against suspected Shiite dissent before last month’s parliamentary elections.

Shiite representatives maintained their 18 seats in the 40-member council.