Bahrainis keep on protesting over execution of three activists

People in Bahrain continue protests against the ruling Al Khalifah regime over the execution of three Shia Muslim activists convicted of killing three policemen during a pro-democracy rally back in March 2014.

Scores of demonstrators blocked roads with burning tires in the village of Nuwaidrat, located about ten kilometers south of the capital, Manama, on Monday and threw firebombs at an anti-riot police vehicle.

A plume of smoke could be seen in the sky as fire burnt on street. Police cars could be heard from hundreds of meters away, with their sirens going.

The development followed a night of clashes between regime forces and demonstrators in Sanabis village, which lies in the suburbs of Manama.

Dozens of men and women marched through the streets of the village, chanting slogans against King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah.

Protests turned violent overnight in several other villages, with some young demonstrators throwing gasoline bombs and clashing with regime forces. Several people sustained injuries as police opened fire with buckshot.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said on Monday that the Northern City Hall had been set ablaze as well.

The protesters see the executions of Abbas al-Samea, 27, Sami Mushaima, 42, and Ali al-Singace, 21, as politically-motivated and maintain that the men had been tortured prior to their death.

Bahraini opposition group takes up arms

Meanwhile, a Bahraini opposition group has announced that it is turning to armed resistance as the only way to get legitimate public demands fulfilled in the face of the Al Khalifah regime’s harsh crackdown in the country.

The al-Wafa’a Islamic Party announced in a statement late on Monday that the current state of affairs and the execution of three Shia activists have left no option but to transform a popular resistance with rallies and demonstrations to an armed struggle.

The party’s leader, Sayed Morteza al-Sanadi, said peaceful rallies have failed to put an end to the regime’s injustice toward the nation, vowing to employ any method or military equipment in the fight against the ruling dynasty.

Bahrain summons Iraqi envoy over comments on Shia executions

Meanwhile, Bahraini Foreign Ministry has summoned Iraqi Ambassador to Manama, Ahmed Nayef Rasheed al-Dulaimi, after the Baghdad government strongly criticized the executions of the three Bahraini Shia activists.

The ministry said the latest remarks by Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki and Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal amounted to “unacceptable interference” in Bahrain’s internal affairs.

Maliki had called the executions “a heinous crime” and disrespect to international law, arguing that the Manama regime was systematically murdering political dissidents.

Jamal also said Bahrain's action represents a clear violation of human rights, and the continuation of a repressive approach vis-à-vis legitimate public demands. 

Bahrain suspends online version of opposition newspaper

Furthermore, Bahraini authorities have suspended the online version of the opposition-linked al-Wasat newspaper until further notice.

A newspaper employee confirmed that the Information Ministry had slapped a ban on the online edition, including online services, but said the print edition had been allowed to continue.

Anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations on an almost daily basis ever since the popular uprising began in Bahrain in February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah family relinquish power and let a just system representing all Bahrainis be established.

Manama has gone to great lengths to silence voices of dissent. Scores of opponents and activists have lost their lives. Hundreds of others have sustained injuries or been arrested.

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