Bahrain: Wide Anger as Al-Khalifa Executes 3 Activists
Local Editor
In a blatant attack against civilians in Bahrain, al-Khalifa dynasty executed three anti-regime activists, amid widespread public anger against the death verdicts.
The regime in Manama carried out the death verdicts on Sunday, triggering angry demonstrations in the villages of Diraz, Bani Jamra and Sanabis.
Regime forces tried to disperse the protesters by firing pellets and teargas canisters and injuring a number of the demonstrators.
Manama's troops also prevented people from holding a funeral procession for those executed.
According to the Bahrain Mirror news website, the authorities have refused to return the bodies of the three activists to their families.
The rallies began on the eve of the executions and lasted into Sunday, when the outraged public marched across the capital Manama and the northeastern villages of Nuwaidrat and al-Dair after the morning prayers, the London-based Bahraini opposition television network Lualua reported.
On January 9, Bahrain's Court of Cassation upheld the death penalties given to Sami Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir al-Sami' and Ali Abdulshahid al-Singace over allegations of killing a member of Emirati forces who had been assisting Manama in its suppression of Bahraini protesters in the northern village of al-Daih back in March 2014. Seven other convicts have also been sentenced to life in prison in the case.
The defendants had denied the charges.
The latest wave of anti-regime protests came after Bahraini religious scholars called on the nation to take to the streets "in a bid to save the lives of the three innocent activists."
"Your rage is the hope which will change all the equations, as well as the way that will save our youths," the statement said in an address to Bahraini people.
During the overnight rallies, protesters shouted slogans against the ruling al-Khalifah dynasty and demanded the release of political prisoners.
Authorities have stepped up security measures in the capital, where they blocked al-Badee' Street.
On Saturday, the Interior Ministry claimed a police patrol had come under gunfire in the northwestern village of Bani Jamra, which lies to the west of the capital, injuring an officer.
Following the report, regime forces deployed to the area and raided houses for eight straight hours.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has lashed out at the Bahraini government for executing three anti-regime activists, saying the Manama regime is liable for any consequences of its action.
Bahrain on Sunday executed three anti-regime Shia activists - Sami Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir al-Sami' and Ali Abdulshahid al-Singace - over their alleged role in a 2014 bomb attack, amid widespread public anger against the death verdicts.
"Through this injudicious measure, the Bahraini government once again demonstrated that it does not seek a peaceful solution to and a way out of the Bahraini crisis," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.
He added that the Bahraini government is insisting on the use of security and oppressive approaches and the brutal killing of defenseless protesters.
International and human rights bodies and all popular organizations across the world have attested to the lack of transparency in the unfair trial proceedings of the three Bahraini citizens, the Iranian spokesperson said.
He expressed regret that the Bahraini government is blocking any path to political dialogue and negotiations and is leading the country to a "complete political impasse" by intensifying political approaches, imposing restrictions and exerting pressure on leaders of the opposition as well as executing political prisoners.
Qassemi said the executions come as Bahraini people and the country's political and religious leaders as well as international circles have been underlining the importance of resolving the crisis through dialogue and interaction.
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament speaker's special advisor on international affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Sunday that the Manama regime's execution of the three young Bahraini activists, who had been "democratically crying out popular demands, is a clear violation of human rights."
He added that global silence in the face of the executions and Bahrain's complicity with the oppressive and meddlesome policies of Britain and Saudi Arabia have exposed the duplicity of the so-called advocates of human rights in the West and Riyadh.
"Instead of relying on foreigners, the Bahraini government must rely on the wise people of its country," the senior Iranian official said.
He emphasized that Iran is not meddling with Bahrain's internal affairs, saying, "We politically and spiritually support the Bahraini people's legitimate demands, which are in accordance with the United Nations Charter and pursued through the recognized democratic approach."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
