Bahrain’s brutal crackdown
Bahrain’s brutal crackdown
19 Apr 2011
As Bahraini soldiers — aided by foreign troops — crush protests, youth activist Mohammed Al-Maskati, whose family have been detained, asks the international community to speak out
On 14 February 2011, the people of Bahrain took to the streets in peaceful and civilised protests in order to demand reforms that would guarantee their basic human rights and freedom. The government chose to suppress the people by force, using riot police and deploying the army.
Two months later, and the situation has escalated to a very dangerous and disturbing level. Currently, soldiers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are being utilised to restrain protesters demands by any means necessary disregarding any civil laws, or even basic human rights.
At the present there are more than 600 detainees including human right activists, political figures, doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers and even students. Thirty people have died, from direct bullet wounds, or sustained injuries. Four activists have died in police detention as a result of torture.
The majority of the detainees were arrested in the middle of the night. Armed and masked military units break down doors and enter houses with no warrants, no warnings. In most of these cases the contents of raided houses were damaged severely. …more
