Bahraini forces attack funeral

Mourners shout anti-government slogans during a funeral march for Sayed Ahmed Shams, 15, on Thursday, March 31, 2011, in Saar.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173452.html

Bahraini security forces have attacked the funeral procession of an anti-government protester in the western village of Karzakan, dispersing the mourners by force.

Witnesses say security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd attending the funeral of Hassan Jassim Fardan, who was killed during a brutal government crackdown.

Also on Wednesday, the body of another Bahraini anti-government protester was found in a bin near a petrol station in the city of Saar, a few kilometers west of the capital Manama.

Seyyed Hamid Mahfood went missing on Tuesday. His funeral was held under heavy security presence in Saar. There were no reports of clashes during his funeral.

The city has witnessed a series of anti-government protests in the last couple of weeks. On March 31, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the head by a police shell in Saar.

There are reports suggesting that Bahraini authorities remove the body organs of those killed in anti-government protests.

“The bodies of the youths, who are being taken out of hospitals and killed, are being returned to their families with their organs missing,” Ralph Schoenman, the author of The Hidden History of Zionism told Press TV.

Since the beginning of the uprising in Bahrain, dozens of anti-government protesters have been killed and many others went missing. Their bodies were often found days after.

However, many still remain missing.

Six opposition leaders have also been arrested and the Manama government has so far refused to provide any information on their fate. The opposition leaders, five Shia and one Sunni, were rounded up on March 17.

Among the opposition leaders is Hassan Mushaima, the head of the Haq party. He returned to Bahrain from Britain in mid-February after Manama dropped charges against him. His family members say Saudi troops were among Bahraini forces taking part in the arrest operation.

In the latest round of arrests, opposition Waad party said on Wednesday that the head of its central committee, Abdulhameed Murad, was arrested.

According to Bahrain's leading Shia opposition group Wefaq, over 450 opposition activists, including 14 women, have been also arrested since the uprising began in the tiny Persian Gulf state in mid-February.