Rights group calls for investigation into Bahrain terrorist blast claims

Bahrain opposition groups say security forces killed a woman after her car got too close to a royal convoy but Manama claims the mother of three died in a terrorist bomb attack. 

On June 30, Fakhriya Msallam Ahmed Hasan was killed and her three children were injured in what the Bahraini regime announced as a terrorist bomb attack, which took place near East Ekar village.

On Saturday, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) called for an "impartial" investigation into the incident, saying that "there are conflicting narratives regarding the incident ... as well as conflicting accusations concerning the responsibility for this tragic event."

Following the blast, Bahraini opposition activists said according to accounts by the witnesses of the incident, security forces opened fire on the woman’s car after she accidentally drove into a royal convoy.

“Additionally, the government of Bahrain should not use this case to further clamp down on the civil society in Bahrain. Since the beginning of June, Bahrain has arrested a leading human rights defender, revoked the nationality of the highest religious figure in Bahrain, closed down the largest political society in the country, and banned several activists from leaving the country to attend the UN Human Rights Council’s 32nd Session and other human rights events abroad,” read a statement posted on the BCHR’s website.

On June 13, Nabeel Rajab was arrested following an intensive search of his house in the northwest of the country. His detention was extended on June 21. Reports suggest he has been subjected to harassment in jail. He is the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and has played a major role in leading the popular protests in the country over the past five years.

On June 20, Manama stripped the citizenship of prominent Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim and on June 14 the Bahraini Justice Ministry announced in a statement that the kingdom had suspended all activities of its main Shia opposition group the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling for the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk