Cairo  9 September 2012

ANHRI condemns the use of excessive force against the demonstrators to disperse them, during the demonstrations that took place in several parts of the country. ANHRI also condemns the judgments made against some figures, rights advocates and leaders who oppose the regime. Furthermore, ANHRI condemns the arrest of a large number of the demonstrators.

The security forces in Bahrain have used tear gas bombs, sound bombs and bullets “shotgun” to disperse demonstrations in several parts of the country during Friday and Saturday. Al-Wefaq National Opposition called for protest against the verdicts made last week against a group of activists, rights’ advocates and oppositions which ruled of imprisonment them for periods ranging from 5 years to life imprisonment, which resulted in injuring several demonstrators suffocated because of the gas density.

Moreover security forces closed all the roads leading to the place of the demonstrations in the capital “Manama”, in addition to the arrest of dozens of demonstrators, after chasing them in the residential neighborhoods after disperse them by force, which sparked panic among the population, as well as the suffocation of some as  result of the density of the gas fired by the security forces randomly in their place of residence.

In a surprising act the Bahraini authorities filed a report against Al-Wefaq National Opposition, the largest opposition movement in the country, accusing it of the responsibility for the events in the country during the past few days and the Bahraini authorities had earlier threatened to ban the Assembly because of its  activity and demand of reforms on the political and social levels.

ANHRI said that ” the Bahraini authorities to negotiate with the opposition forces rather than suppressing them and the threat to ban its activities as well as warned Bahrain form the continuation  to suppress organizations and opposition movements as well as harassing them which reached to the ban and the closure of some of them, as Bahrain issued a short time ago a decision to dissolve the amal-islami”aml”, as well as harassing the opposition, activists and torturing them”

ANHRI calls the Bahraini authorities to respect the peaceful demonstrations and the immediate release of all the prisoners of conscience in the country, if Bahrain is serious in seeking to improve its image in terms of respecting the freedom of opinion and expression as well as its commitment to treaties and human rights treaties signed by it.