Bahrain Executions Spark Violent Protests

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Bahrain on Sunday executed three men found guilty of killing three policemen, sparking violent protests and stoking tensions between the country's Shiite majority and its Sunni rulers.

The three Shiites faced the firing squad, six days after a court upheld their death sentences over a bomb attack in March 2014, the prosecutor's office said.

Bahrain, which has been ruled by the al-Khalifa dynasty for more than two centuries, has a majority Shiite population which has long complained of marginalization.

It has been rocked by sporadic unrest since March 2011 when security forces brutally crushed an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.

The executions triggered protests in Shiite villages.

Demonstrators blocked roads with burning tires and police retaliated by firing tear gas, according to posts on social media.

Pictures shared online by activists showed relatives of those executed weeping over their deaths.

Bahrain authorities do not permit international news agencies to cover events independently.

The executions came a day after demonstrations broke out across Shiite villages following rumors they were going to be put to death.

They are the first in six years in the Gulf kingdom, according to London-based human rights group, Reprieve.

"It is nothing short of an outrage -- and a disgraceful breach of international law -- that Bahrain has gone ahead with these executions," Reprieve director Maya Foa said.

Reprieve said the executions went ahead "despite serious concerns that their convictions were based on evidence obtained under torture."

- 'Black day' -  

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, head of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said: "This is a black day in Bahrain's history."

"It is the most heinous crime committed by the government of Bahrain and a shame upon its rulers."

Scores of men and women took to the streets on Saturday after the families of the three were summoned to meet them in prison, a measure that usually precedes the implementation of death sentences, witnesses said.

"No, no to execution," the protesters chanted.

Later on Saturday, a policeman was wounded when his patrol came under fire in the Shiite village of Bani Jamra, said the interior ministry.

The outlawed al-Ashtar Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a purported statement, saying the "heroic operation" was a warning to authorities not to harm "brothers sentenced to death."

Authorities have said that the trio and fellow defendants belonged to the same clandestine group which has claimed several bomb attacks in Bahrain.  

The high court on Monday upheld the death sentences against the trio convicted in a bomb attack in March 2014, which killed three policemen, including an officer from the United Arab Emirates.

The executed men have been named by activists as Sami Mushaima, 42, Ali al-Singace, 21, and Abbas al-Samea, 27.

Seven other defendants received life terms.

The Emirati officer was part of a Saudi-led Gulf force which rolled into Bahrain in March 2011 to help put down a month of Shiite-led protests.

Bahrain is a strategic ally of the United States and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Iran's foreign ministry on Sunday criticized the Bahraini authorities for what it called an "inconsiderate action."

"The Bahraini regime with its security approach is on its way to complete political blockage," ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said.

Lebanon's Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran, slammed the executions of the "innocent" men as "part of the big crime committed by the regime against the Bahraini people."

"It is clear that this execution will destroy every chance for a political exit out of Bahrain's crisis, and leads the country into an unknown future, threatening stability in Bahrain and the whole region," it said.

Brian Dooley, director of Human Rights Defenders at the Washington-based Human Rights First, urged the United States to use its influence.

"Washington should warn its Gulf ally that this would be a reckless, frightening level of repression to pursue, likely to spark rage and further violence in an already volatile region," he said on Saturday.

Since the 2011 uprising, Bahrain has arrested and put on trial hundreds of Shiites and cracked down hard on the opposition, despite repeated appeals by international rights groups.

Cleric Ali Salman, the head of al-Wefaq largest opposition group, was arrested in December 2014 and later sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted of inciting hatred.

Comments 18
Thumb barrymore 15 January 2017, 12:40

Good Riddance

how many executions are taking place in Syria?

Thumb Mystic 15 January 2017, 13:00

More will rise to take their place.

Thumb galaxy 15 January 2017, 14:06

Mystic

why don't you rise and take their place instead of sitting at your keyboard acting as a cheerleader from the balcony of your filthy dahieh ground floor apartment while shooting the seagulls?

Thumb barrymore 15 January 2017, 14:55

because the coward is paid to flex his imaginary bravado online.

Thumb Mystic 15 January 2017, 15:19

You people are apoplectic, it's a joy to watch.

Default-user-icon mowaten@lqu7 (Guest) 15 January 2017, 12:41

why only 3?

Thumb EagleDawn 15 January 2017, 13:17

Gone and Forgotten

Rest in Pieces;)

Thumb ex-fpm 15 January 2017, 14:37

14:19"حزب الله" دان عملية الاعدام في البحرين: ستطيح بأي حلول سياسية وستقود البلاد نحو مستقبل مجهول.

and aoun does not consider it interference in other countries affairs.!

Thumb barrymore 15 January 2017, 14:52

Only someone who is party to the conflict in Bahrain would issue rhetoric of this kind. What in the world does hezbollah have to do with Bahrain?

Thumb EagleDawn 15 January 2017, 15:11

but @mowateh of iran will tell you:

"what bahraini or saudi affairs affairs did they "interfere" with? "

Thumb ex-fpm 15 January 2017, 14:40

Hamadeh: Lebanon Now Practicing a More Independent Foreign Policy

LOL

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/223762-hamadeh-lebanon-now-practicing-a-more-independent-foreign-policy

another slap in the face;)

Thumb barrymore 15 January 2017, 14:53

Lebanon is less than a joke and you have Bassil preaching the other day how Lebanon is following a policy of non-interference. lol......!

Thumb ashtah 15 January 2017, 15:24

All these politicians are an absolute waste of oxygen. Lebanon is an iranian mini state and that is the bottom line.

Thumb justin 15 January 2017, 15:37

but it is not aoun's fault; he inherited the problem of hezbollah and there is nothing he can do about it except pursue a policy of not interfering in arab countries affairs lmao!

Thumb Southern...... 15 January 2017, 16:35

the Bahraini people must maintain their revolution as peaceful as it was and as it's now, regardless of the innocent civilians assassinated by this wahhabi terrorist regime.

Thumb liberty 15 January 2017, 19:10

takiah serial filth

Thumb chrisrushlau 15 January 2017, 19:49

God is not stupid and people are not stupid. The stupid things that people do on purpose are at the cost of their own psychological integrity. Making fun of justice is such a case. The attempt to pretend that they could never be on the receiving end of a corrupt system of justice destroys their own awareness of current events. They giggle on their hurried way to the cemetery: they thought they were going to the seminary to get a five dollar blessing.

Thumb warrior 16 January 2017, 06:59

God is not stupid... but you certainly are.