Bahrainis launch civil disobedience

Rasa - Bahrainis took to the streets in a number of towns and villages Friday as part of a civil disobedience campaign, as the country braces for the fifth anniversary of the popular uprising against the Al Khalifah regime.

News ID: 3939

Date: 12 February 2016 - 18:35

RNA - Local media reported that businesses were shut as store owners coordinated a strike two days ahead of the anniversary of the uprising of February 14, 2011.

Scores of people have been killed in the regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrations in five years of near-daily protests. Hundreds of activists, including senior opposition figures, have been put behind bars.

The regime in Manama has also enjoyed military assistance from Saudi Arabia for its crackdown.

Authorities on Friday condemned the coordinated move for disrupting the public order, with Tariq al-Hossein, the top security chief in Bahrain, stating that any call for disobedience would amount to “punishable crime.”

Hossein said the Bahraini judiciary will decisively act against any move which could stir unrest in the country. He said those behind the online call for civil disobedience will be detained and prosecuted.

In the village of Nuwaidrat, south of the capital, Manama, clashes erupted between protesters and regime forces.

Human rights groups inside and outside Bahrain have frequently condemned the kingdom’s harsh clampdown on dissent, urging the regime to heed calls for reforms in the political system.

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