Middle East News
Bahraini police, protestors clash for second night after arrest
By DPA
Feb 19, 2007, 1:39 GMT
Abu Saiba, Bahrain – Bahraini anti-riot police and protesters clashed for the second straight night late Sunday in the Shiite village Abu Saiba, west of the capital Manama, after authorities detained a village youth.
Radhi Ali Radhi, who is in his early 20s, was arrested Saturday at his home on suspicion that he took part in a riot earlier in the week in the nearby Shiite village of Bani Jamarah, where anti-riot police came under attack by Molotov cocktails.
He was detained following a dawn raid, which provoked relatives and friends to organize a protest the same day in front of the village entrance to demand his release. His family had tried to see him at the police station but were denied and turned away without being given a reason for his arrest.
Middle East News
Bahraini police, protestors clash for second night after arrest
By DPA
Feb 19, 2007, 1:39 GMT
Abu Saiba, Bahrain – Bahraini anti-riot police and protesters clashed for the second straight night late Sunday in the Shiite village Abu Saiba, west of the capital Manama, after authorities detained a village youth.
Radhi Ali Radhi, who is in his early 20s, was arrested Saturday at his home on suspicion that he took part in a riot earlier in the week in the nearby Shiite village of Bani Jamarah, where anti-riot police came under attack by Molotov cocktails.
He was detained following a dawn raid, which provoked relatives and friends to organize a protest the same day in front of the village entrance to demand his release. His family had tried to see him at the police station but were denied and turned away without being given a reason for his arrest.
The protests on Wednesday and Thursday occurred on the anniversary of democratic reforms in the country.
Saturday protests turned into clashes when police tried to disperse the crowds, after organizers failed to do so.
Protesters burned trash and hurled stones and empty bottles at anti-riot police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
At least two protesters suffered exhaustion following inhaling tear gas, but there were no reports of injuries among police.
Sunday night’s clashes were more severe, as protesters resorted to using Molotov cocktails against troops trying to disperse them.
Both police and protesters continued to exchange blame for the clashes.
‘Tonight’s protest was a peaceful one, and it would have ended peacefully had the police not intervened,’ one organizer said, arguing that police intervention both nights caused the demonstrations to turn into clashes.
A night earlier, a police official on the scene pointed out that Bahraini law prohibits protests without prior notice or following sunset.
‘They were given a five-minute warning to disperse, and we had anti-riot police placed visibly at distance to encourage a peaceful end to this situation before (demonstrators) started hurling stones at police,’ the police official said.
Police on Sunday again gave protesters a five-minute warning and placed anti-riot troops visibly near the scene, but the protesters turned the demonstration into a sit-in, refusing to comply with the ultimatum to disperse.
Sunday night’s clashes lasted for around three hours.
© 2007 dpa – Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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