Bahraini police dispersed anti-government protesters who blocked roads in several villages, an official statement said on Wednesday, as tensions in the Shiite-majority Gulf kingdom continue to rise. Public Security Chief Major General Tariq al-Hassan said “vandals blocked roads” and threw petrol bombs during Tuesday night clashes, according to a statement published on the official BNA news agency website.
Hassan said security forces made “several arrests” in Shiite villages, but gave no further details on the exact location of the clashes or if there were any injuries. Former opposition MP Matar Matar told AFP that protesters clashed with security forces in at least four Shiite villages, leaving several people injured, including one who remains in serious condition after being hit on the head with a tear gas canister. “One young man is in hospital and is in critical condition,” said Matar, who is also a member of the key Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq, noting another two protesters have been killed in recent months from similar tear gas injuries. “This indicates the existence of a (government) policy to intentionally injure protesters rather than just merely disperse them,” said Matar. On December 31, Al-Wefaq said 15-year-old Sayyed Hashem Saeed died after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister. The government at the time released a statement saying they would investigate the teenager’s death. According to Matar, Tuesday night’s clashes erupted after posts on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, called on Bahrainis to go out and “confront” the security forces.
Emergency rule was legal, says Bahrain court
A Bahraini court ruled on Wednesday that King Hamad acted lawfully when he declared a quasi state of emergency in March ahead of a crackdown on Shiite-led democracy protests. The constitutional court “rejected the appeal into the constitutionality of the articles of the (state of) National Safety,” the official BNA news agency reported. National Safety is the first of two categories of exceptional measures that the king can resort to in times of emergency. The second is a full state of Martial Law. An independent commission King Hamad tasked with probing the bloody clampdown on a month-long protest in mid-March had recommended that the constitutional court review the royal declaration of a three-month State of National Safety. The commission found 35 people were killed in the crackdown on protests, including five security personnel and five detainees who were tortured to death in custody.
