Dozens of Bahraini protesters clashed with security forces who fired birdshot and tear gas to disperse them during an anti-government rally on Friday over the detention of a main opposition leader, a Reuters witness said.
The discontent has worsened since the arrest on December 28 of Sheikh Ali Salman, a cleric who heads the al-Wefaq opposition party. Salman was arrested after he led a peaceful rally near the capital Manama to protest November's general elections – which the opposition boycotted – and call for the dismissal of both the parliament and the government.
The witness said protest marches by about two hundred men and women in the village of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, turned violent, with dozens of young men throwing petrol bombs at security forces who fired birdshot and tear gas back.
Al-Wefaq said at least five protesters were injured. It sent photos to journalists of one person with bird shot injuries on his back and another with blood-stains on his head.
The Interior Ministry said it was checking the reports.
The public prosecutor accuses Salman of several offenses, including inciting people to overthrow the government. Salman was remanded in custody on Sunday for 15 days pending further investigation.
In a statement, Amnesty said it considers Salman's detention "a flagrant violation of his right to freedom of expression, association and assembly" and urged Bahraini authorities "to release him immediately and unconditionally."
"If convicted, the organization would consider him a prisoner of conscience," the London-based watchdog said.
The soft-spoken Salman, 49, is considered a moderate who has pushed for a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain, unlike others who have demanded the toppling of the al-Khalifa dynasty.
"We want a constitutional monarchy where the al-Khalifas would be the monarchs," Salman told AFP in May 2011, shortly after Bahrain's deadly crackdown on month-long protests.
"We said: The people want to reform the regime. We did not raise the slogan of toppling the regime," he said.
Countries worldwide denounced Salman’s arrest, and over 37 international human rights organizations demanded in a statement the immediate and unconditional release of Salman following his arrest.
Salman “is known to be a political and national figure that has always called for dialogue and peaceful procedures as clearly stated in The Non-Violence Principles Declaration. He also calls for the peaceful transfer of power according to what international treaties stipulate,” the statement read.
Western-allied Bahrain has seen outbreaks of tension since security forces quelled protests in 2011. Bahrain's majority Shia population have demanded reforms and a bigger share in government in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, where the US Fifth Fleet is based.
With Saudi Arabia's help, Bahrain, a country ruled by the al-Khalifa family for over 200 years, crushed peaceful demonstrations that began on February 14, 2011.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf neighbors sent troops into Bahrain in March 2011, reinforcing a crackdown that led to accusations of serious human rights violations.
At least 89 people are estimated to have been killed and hundreds have been arrested and tried since the uprising erupted.
(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
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