Clashes in Bahrain after police block protests Sun Dec 17, 3:54 PM ET
Protesters pelted police with stones in Bahrain after they were prevented from demonstrating to demand compensation for victims of torture from the 1990s, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.
No injuries or arrests were immediately reported in the clashes which erupted in the Ras al-Rumman district in eastern Manama and outside the capital.
Riot police blocked roads leading to Ras al-Rumman and fired tear gas to disperse protesters who hurled stones at the policemen, damaging one of their vehicles. No arrests were reported.
Clashes in Bahrain after police block protests Sun Dec 17, 3:54 PM ET
Protesters pelted police with stones in Bahrain after they were prevented from demonstrating to demand compensation for victims of torture from the 1990s, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.
No injuries or arrests were immediately reported in the clashes which erupted in the Ras al-Rumman district in eastern Manama and outside the capital.
Riot police blocked roads leading to Ras al-Rumman and fired tear gas to disperse protesters who hurled stones at the policemen, damaging one of their vehicles. No arrests were reported.
Hours later, protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at police in the villages of Sannabis and Al-Daih west of Manama after police closed off the entrances to the two villages.
Similar skirmishes broke out in Sitra island south of Manama Sunday evening.
A statement by the interior ministry said police “prevented an illegal march” in Ras al-Rumman under orders from the public security chief “because its timing was not appropriate,” as it coincided with Bahrain’s national day on Saturday.
It said “a group of troublemakers tried to spark acts of rioting in Sannabis but law enforcement forces dealt with them on the spot.”
The protests were called by the Shiite-led National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture, which often organizes marches at this time of year to demand compensation for abuse suffered by activists in the past.
It says the violations occurred chiefly during unrest led by members of the Shiite majority against the government of the Sunni-ruled island state that left at least 38 people dead between 1994 and 1999.
The alleged violations remain a sore point even after King Hamad launched a reform process in 2001 that recently led to the Shiite opposition making a spectacular entry into parliament.
Rights activists want the repeal of a decree issued by the king in October 2002 stipulating that courts could no longer hear cases brought against people accused of crimes committed before a general amnesty declared in February 2001 as part of national reconciliation and political reform.
There have been several demonstrations over the years to press demands that officials accused of practising torture during the anti-government disturbances be put on trial.
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