BahrainHuman Rights

Bahraini forces attack funeral of slain protester

330917_Bahrain-regime-forcesSaudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked a funeral procession held for a 17-year-old youth killed by regime forces in the northwestern village of Bani Jamra.

The funeral was held on Wednesday for Ali Khalil al-Sabbagh in the village situated west of the capital, Manama.

Sabbagh was shot dead by regime forces in Bani Jamra on Tuesday.

He is the latest victim of the ongoing crackdown by the Al Khalifa regime on dissent.

Police, however, say he died after a bomb he was holding in his hands went off. They also claim that he was wanted for criminal offenses.

After the Tuesday incident, Bahrainis took to the streets across the island nation and held demonstrations against the Al Khalifa regime.

Reports say the Bahraini forces also arrested Sabbagh’s father.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, calling for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture, while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising started in the kingdom.

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.

Protesters say they will continue to hold anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

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