Tensions High as Bahrainis Hold Funeral for Teen Martyr

Tensions were high in Bahrain on Thursday as large numbers of people were attending a funeral ceremony for 14-year-old Ali Jawad, who was martyred by security forces after Eid al-Fitr prayers. Bahraini security forces resorted to firing tear gas and live rounds, but failed to disperse angry people who poured into the streets on Thursday to condemn the killing of the teenager. Jawad was martyred on Wednesday when he was shot at close range, directly in the face, by a tear gas canister fired by the security forces in the southern city of Sitra. Large crowds of people, among them human rights activists, attended the funeral for the youth victim, shouting slogans against the ruling Al Khalifa family. “Death to Al Khalifa,” chanted the outraged protesters. The brutal killing of Ali Jawad comes a few days after a televised speech by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in which he announced a decision to “pardon” the demonstrators arrested during the country's popular uprising that broke out in February. The remarks were immediately met with street protests by Bahraini people and activists, who deem the remarks as an insult to hundreds of political activists held in regime prisons and the majority of Bahraini public who have turned against the US- and Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime. Speaking to Press TV, the President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab said that the picture of the situation on the ground is totally different from the speech the King delivered, referring to the continued killing of protesters, attacking and looting of houses and the demolition of mosques and holy places b y Saudi-backed regime. Separately, people have held demonstrations in several cities and villages across Bahrain to condemn the murder of the teenage boy by the regime forces.

Source: Press TV

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