Bahraini Regime Should Be Held Accountable for Deaths of Youths at Sea: Activist
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A prominent Bahraini political activist cast doubt over the circumstances leading to the recent deaths of three Bahraini youths in the Persian Gulf waters and said all the three had been threatened to death by the Manama regime’s security bodies.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Sheikh Ali Karbabadi described the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three Bahraini youths and the missing of another in the Persian Gulf last month as “obscure” and said the Manama regime is duty-bound to probe into the incident.
“There is no information about those who killed the three and we only know that the bottom of their boat was shot and the boat’s engine was stolen,” he said.
There is a possibility that the Al Khalifa regime’s forces fired at their boat after failing to chase them, the activist said.
He further said that the three martyrs had been threatened to death by Bahraini security bodies, adding that all of the youths had faced heavy charges on political grounds.
According to media reports, the three were found dead in Iranian territorial waters and a fourth person is still missing after a barrage of gunfire reportedly sank their boat.
Although Manama denied any knowledge of the incident, the four men were wanted by its security apparatus.
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.
