Bahraini anti-regime protester killed near capital

A young Bahraini man has been killed as security forces step up pressure on anti-regime protesters demanding democracy in the Persian Gulf island, Press TV reports.

On Tuesday, police officers chased 20-year-old Hussain Ahmad Sharaf up to his house where two explosions suddenly ripped through the place.

Ahmad Sharaf, who was from the village of Eker near the capital Manama, succumbed to his injuries as security forces did not allow the ambulance and fire trucks to reach his residence.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations on 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 peaceful protesters.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds injured and jailed by the regime forces since the uprising broke out.

On March 30, a court in Bahrain sentenced 13 pro-democracy protesters including several teenagers to life in prison.

The court issued the verdicts after convicting the defendants of allegedly attempting to kill a policeman and participating in an anti-regime protest outside Manama in March 2012.

In February, Amnesty International denounced the “relentless repression” of anti-regime protesters in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, blaming Bahraini security forces for their repeated use of “excessive force to quash anti-government protests.”

On February 14, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Bahraini regime to respect its “international human rights obligations” in dealing with peaceful protests in the country.