Bahrain : Aauthorities used excessive force to prevent a rights march called upon by activists, continues systematic collective punishment, and random arrests,
Around midnight yesterday, eye witnesses confirmed that security forces were observed firing what was left in possession of tear gas canisters on the roofs of houses and alleys, as they depart the region which was free of protesters at that time. This behavior of the special security forces was recently implemented to cause the greatest possible collective punishment in order to incite societal reaction against protesters that marked the region recently .
Bahrain : Aauthorities used excessive force to prevent a rights march called upon by activists, continues systematic collective punishment, and random arrests,
Around midnight yesterday, eye witnesses confirmed that security forces were observed firing what was left in possession of tear gas canisters on the roofs of houses and alleys, as they depart the region which was free of protesters at that time. This behavior of the special security forces was recently implemented to cause the greatest possible collective punishment in order to incite societal reaction against protesters that marked the region recently .
Yesterday and until late, Sanabis area witnessed hit-and-run between protesters and security forces which cordoned off the area, as usual, and showered it with tear gas and rubber bullets, which caused cases of suffocation and injuries, which was treated on-site while others, at least seven cases, were taken to Salmaneya hospital, as ambulance cars were seen noticeably in the region.
On the other hand, the security forces siege t ook place resulted in the arrest of three young men from the village of “Jed Al-Hajj” who were snatched out of their car and severely beaten with batons and shoes. The youth: Ahmed Merza Ahmed (22yrs) Kareem Ahmed Khamis (20 yrs), Nasser Saleh Shareef (19 yrs) were awaiting dinner order at a restaurant in Sanabis during the protest, when they were taken, by surprise, by the military security personnel out of the car and brutally beaten before being arrested. The arrest occurred after security forces stormed the area until they reached the middle part. The Attorney General order their custody for ten days pending investigation on charges, not yet known.
Sa nabis was the stronghold of the protest, which included various regions -with different degrees- including Daih, Nuaim, Malekeya, Karzakan and Manama. The protests came as a result of hundreds of heavily armed security forces, at about 2pm in the afternoon yesterday, occupied the area adjacent to Ras Al Rumman Grand Mosque, in the Capital Manama, the site where the right march called-upon by 15 Bahraini figures (activists, politicians and religious scholars). The massive number of armed security forces were placed in different areas of the capital Manama in order to prevent assembly and start of the march. The organizers took the required measures including the customary legal notice, but the Bahraini Authorities decided to prevent the march on the pretext that it coincides with Formula-1 events taking place in Bahrain in the period 13-15 April.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the starting time of the march, the special forces closed all roads leading to the site. The situation became tense as the forces invaded the neighboring areas, where some participants in the march were in assembly, and fired tear gas. It was that act that triggered clashes between the two sides, after which the protesters were chased by the special forces with the assistance of helicopter, which was flying at a low altitude, to note places of gatherings and smoke coming out of garbage containers. These were noted to spread in various locations stretching from Ras Al-Rumman in the capital through Nuaim, then Daih and Sanabis where skirmishes lasted until midnight. This coincided with clashes in other regions included Belad Al-Aqdeem, Tashan, Karzakan and Malekeya.
The result of these pursuits and confrontations was the arrest of Mohammed Ashoor (29 yrs) from the village Karzakan-south-west of Bahrain, who was seen being beaten by the Special Security Forces while facing a wall beside Ras Al-Rumman Grand Mosque. Ashoor fate is unknown until this statement.
On the other hand, Bahraini security forces were mobilized this afternoon at the entrance of the villages of Demstan and Karzakan in order to prevent the Marathon “Economic Rights” called upon by the representatives of the Unemployed Committee, the Commission of Adequate Housing, the Committee for Improved Living, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights. The Bahraini Security Authorities had refused to allow the Marathon to go ahead despite the written notice by the organizers. The Security Forces verified the identity of entrants to the region and prevented outsiders from entry. However, the organizers and supporters succeeded in breaking through the human barriers armed with rubber bullets and tear gas. The organizers successfully launched the activity, after changing the course of the marathon to take the alleys and side agricultural roads as substitute for the original agreed upon route. This was to avoid confrontation and clashing with the security forces. They managed to cross the neighboring villages and finished the proposed marathon.
However, the neighboring village “Malekeya” witnessed protests against the presence of the security forces to prevent the Marathon, and set blaze to garbage containers and tires, then dumped them in the middle of the road, forcing the special forces to attend the site and attack the village after launching tear gas and rubber bullets to all residents in the market. This situation continued until sunset. It should be noted the five organizers announced a program of sports-media “Marathon” in different areas in Bahrain, to raise public and community awareness of the importance of their economic rights.
Tomorrow will witness the trial of detainees who have been in custody since the beginning of the fourth week of last February, following protests in the Bani Jamrah. The prosecution, based on charges of crowd and riot charges, according to articles 178 and 179 of the Penal Code, will be to Jaafar Salman Yousif (23 yrs) from Karranh, Rahdi Ali Radhi (22 yrs) from Abu Saiba and Jassem Jaafar Madan (25 yrs) from Hamad Town. The detainees of Karbabad -Sayed Ali Sayed Akbar (20 yrs), Jaafar Sadiq Kadhem (21 yrs), Mahmood Ali Mahdi (22yrs) –were released last Monday, April 9, 2007 on bail of 500 Dinars each, awaiting the trial on Tuesday, April 24. In the same context, the Bahraini Security Authorities declared 18th of April for the trial of events (mostly in full-study) – – not to exceed 17 years of age- who were released two weeks after their arrest because of their presence in the vicinity of protesting events, took place in the third week of last February.
Committee of Solidarity with Activists and Detainees of Conscience in Bahrain
April 14th , 2007.