Bahrain 19 Year Old in a Coma After Being Shot in Head with Tear Gas Canister

Bahrain: Injured Civilian In A Coma After Being Shot With Tear Gas Canister
27 October, 2013 – Bahrain center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the continued use of excessive force against peaceful protesters by the authorities in Bahrain.

Abbas Abdulnabi Marhoon, 19 years-old, is suffering from severe injuries after he was shot with a tear gas canister in the head on the 16th of October 2013. Witnesses reported that Marhoon was shot directly at the head and was taken, unconscious, to a nearby medical center: the Hamad Kanoo health center. Due to the seriousness of his injuries, Marhoon was transferred to the operation room in the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital. He was shot near the brain and eye, which caused him to suffer from fracture in his skull, serious bleeding, and he is currently being closely monitored.

The family stated that Marhoon is still in the Intensive Care Unit and is unconscious; his condition is not stable.

As Marhoon struggling for his life, recently leaked documents from Bahrain Watch show that the authorities in Bahrain have made plans to import a massive shipment of tear gas canisters from Korea. It was one such canister that Marhoon was injured with, and the police have been documented in many videos using these weapons illegally.

The leaked document is a request for a bid to supply Bahrain with 1.6 million tear gas canisters and 90,000 sound grenades. Bahrain Watch launched a campaign to stop this shipment and demands a stop to all tear gas sales to Bahrain. Since the start of Bahrain’s uprising, approximately 39 persons were killed by tear gas, several of them due to injuries caused from directly being shot with tear gas from close range; there are several children among them.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and all of Bahrain’s closest allies as well as international institutions to pressure the authorities to:

– Launch an immediate investigation into Marhoon’s injury and hold those responsible accountable

– Put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to stop its use of excessive force in response to the continued peaceful protests, and to consider a meaningful solution to resolve the persistent political issues of instability in the country.

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