Bahrain launches probe into death of 17-year-old protester

[News_Editor]

Bahrain launches probe into death of 17-year-old protester

2011-10-08 12:35:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANAMA (BNO NEWS) -- Bahrain's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into the death of a teenage boy who died while protesting in the country's northwest earlier this week, officials said on Saturday.

The ministry's assistant undersecretary for legal affairs said the investigation was launched after a forensic autopsy report attributed the death to injury by birdshot (stray bullet), while a medical report said he died after a severe drop in his blood circulation led to a heart failure. "Legal procedures will be taken according to the results of the investigation," the official said.

17-year-old Ahmad Jaber Al Qattan died on Thursday evening during a demonstration in the Abu Subaa area, which is located in the country's northwest. According to the ministry, the clashes erupted after protesters attacked police with stones and Molotov cocktails, prompting them to use tear gas.

Al Wefaq, the largest opposition party, said the teen was the victim of a police birdshot during clashes in the area. The party said that a rally planned for Friday afternoon had been cancelled "because it [would] coincide with the funeral procession of Ahmad Jaber."

On August 31, 14-year old Ali Jawad Ahmed was killed when security forces allegedly used 'excessive force' against a small crowd of protesters who had gathered south of the Bahraini capital of Manama. The government denied the allegations, saying there had been no police action.

More than 30 people have been killed in Bahrain since anti-government demonstrations erupted in February, inspired by the popular uprisings which toppled the entrenched regimes of Tunisia and Egypt. The island's Shia majority is demanding political, social and economic reforms from the Sunni royal family.

In mid-March, Bahraini King Hamad Al Khalifa, with help from neighboring Sunni Gulf states, violently put down the country's peaceful protest movement and imposed a state of emergency. Small-scale clashes between security forces and demonstrators have become a near nightly event since emergency rule was lifted in June.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-08