King Hamad’s murderous apartheid takes another young persons life in State directed violence

Bahrain Teenager’s Death Shows Tensions Persist Year After Popular Revolt
By Donna Abu-Nasr – 9 February, 2012 – Bloomberg

Mohammed Ibrahim Yacoub had a haircut, took a shower and left home with a friend as police clashed with Shiite Muslim protesters near his home in Sitra, Bahrain on Jan. 25. That was the last time his family saw their 18-year-old son alive.

There are competing narratives of what happened to Yacoub. His family, who are Shiites, say he was hit by two police cars that were chasing him, then detained, tortured and taken to hospital where he passed away. The government says he died as a result of complications from sickle-cell anemia following his arrest for vandalism.

Yacoub’s is one of several contested deaths in the run-up to the Feb. 14 anniversary of last year’s mass anti-government rallies. They were suppressed at a cost of at least 35 dead, exacerbating divisions between Bahrain’s Shiite majority and Sunni royals that may flare again as activists call for renewed protests. Violence has hurt the economy and fueled the rivalry between Saudi Arabia, which sent troops to help the crackdown, and Shiite-ruled Iran, accused by Bahrain’s authorities of encouraging the unrest.

There are “tensions in Bahrain that do have the potential of boiling over and creating economic instability,” Farouk Soussa, chief economist for the Middle East at Citigroup Inc. in Dubai, said in a phone interview. “There are no illusions that what happened over the past year was a one-off.”
Pearl Roundabout Demolished

Protesters say they will attempt to march to the former Pearl Roundabout, the center of last year’s rallies. The roundabout has been demolished by the government and the surrounding area turned into a restricted military zone. Demonstrators attempting to reach it in December were met with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, according to the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

The opposition says several people have died after torture, like Yacoub, or tear gas inhalation, allegations the government denies.

Shiites represent about two thirds of the nation’s population of 1.2 million, according to the U.S. State Department. In demonstrations in February and March, they demanded democratic representation and equal economic opportunities, saying that they faced discrimination in jobs and housing and that the elected parliament lacks power. …more