Human Rights

Activists censure Bahrain’s misuse of CS gas against protesters

Activists censure Bahrain’s misuse of CS gas against protesters

Activists have called for an investigation into misusing CS gas against the Bahraini protesters by the Al Khalifa regime’s security forces.

At a press conference in Switzerland on Saturday, Irish Orthopedic Surgeon Professor Damian McCormack, who is also a member of a Bahraini NGO, condemned the excessive use of CS gas by the Saudi-backed military forces in the Persian Gulf country.

“CS gas as misused in Bahrain is most certainly lethal. And it is lethal because of the intensity of its use [and] the concentration within a confined room, and it is not supposed to be used in a confined space,” McCormack said.

“If CS gas, which is a compound containing cyanide, and which releases cyanide if it is inflamed… that agent will kill you in a room if you do not escape the room,” he added.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on the peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have “evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police” in the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Back to top button