Bahrain Interior Ministry Responsible for Death of Young Protester: Opposition

Abbar, 27, died on April 18, after 55 days in coma from injuries he suffered during a rally held in late February in Sa’ar, a residential area west of the capital Manama.

“He was killed by interior (ministry) personnel 25 days ago, but the authorities are refusing to mention the real reason of death in his death certificate,” Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society stated on its official website.

“His corpse remains in detention as his family would not accept a faked death certificate,” the group added.

Al-Wefaq emphasized that the Bahraini authorities are refusing to conduct “an independent and impartial investigation” into the death of Abbar.

“Abbar was shot with bird shot gun and tear-gas grenade on February 23rd, 2014 during the funeral of Sayed Ali Almusawi.”

“The security forces had fired randomly at the mourners that day, leaving many wounded, but the most serious injury was Abbar’s.”

“The least is to demand an impartial investigation into all the violations perpetrated on 23rd February 2014, including the fatal injury of Abbar and the attack on the religious place in Sa’ar, which caused suffocation among the citizens inside”, Al-Wefaq said, “Not admitting to the crime does not mean it did not happen”.

Al Wefaq also called on the Bahraini authorities to immediately hand the young protester's corpse to his family and issue a death certificate for him specifying the real reason of his death, which is the fatal injuries caused by the interior ministry personnel.

Scores of people have been killed and many others put behind bars by regime forces since the outbreak of a popular uprising in Bahrain more than three years ago.

The protesters demand the downfall of Al Khalifah regime and want the establishment of a democratically elected government in the tiny Persian Gulf state.

Pro-democracy rallies are held in Bahrain almost on a regular basis in defiance of the deadly crackdown by Al Khalifah regime.