Some 37 wounded in anti-regime protests across Bahrain

Rasa - Dozens of Bahraini protesters have been injured when they came under attack by Manama’s forces during fresh anti-regime rallies across the country.

News ID: 426728

Date: 22 January 2017 - 16:47

RNA - On Saturday, Bahraini police forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters in several areas, including Sitra Island as well as the villages of Ma’ameer and Nuwaidrat.

Reports say some 37 protesters sustained injuries during the clashes.

The fresh round of protests came in condemnation of the recent execution of three Shia Muslim activists for their alleged role in a bombing during an anti-regime demonstration in 2014.

Abbas al-Samea, 27, Sami Mushaima, 42, and Ali al-Singace, 21, were executed on January 15 by firing squad.

The killings came a week after the Court of Cassation upheld death sentences against the trio after finding them guilty of killing three policemen, including an Emirati officer, in the northern village of al-Daih back in March 2014.

Even the United States, the strongest ally of the Al Khalifah regime, reprimanded Bahrain over the executions on Tuesday.

Reacting to the death sentences, Bahraini opposition al-Wafa’a Islamic Party announced in a statement last week 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.

Meanwhile, Bahraini judicial officials have set January 23 as the date for the trial of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who has been behind bars over online comments deemed insulting to the ruling Al Khalifah regime and Saudi Arabia.

Rajab, the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, is accused of “spreading false news and rumors during a time of war.” If found guilty, he could be jailed for 15 years.

He was arrested on June 13 last year for comments on Twitter that criticized Manama’s role in the Saudi war against Yemen, according to Human Rights Watch.

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.

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