Bahrain’s Political Arrests Hit Record High in March
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The number of political arrests in Bahrain has hit record high in March, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) announced.
In a statistical report posted on its twitter account on Saturday, the BCHR voiced deep concerns over the rising number of arrests made by the AL Khalifa regime from September 2014 to August 2015, according to the Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website.
In March 2015, Bahrain has witnessed 272 arrests on political grounds, which is the highest number in the 12-month period, the report said.
Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has been witnessing almost daily protests against the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, with Manama using heavy-handed measures in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.
Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
Bahraini opposition groups, however, have unanimously called for the release of all the political dissidents who have been imprisoned, stressing that only a political solution, and not the use of force, would end the political crisis in the Persian Gulf state.