MANAMA, 21 January 2007 — Twelve people were injured when Bahraini police and protesters clashed Friday afternoon during a protest for families of three men who were detained in Daih village on the outskirts of Manama on charges stemming from possessing anti-government leaflets.
Clashes erupted shortly after anti-riot police was deployed to disperse the crowd. Protesters were seen hurling stones at police who fired tear-gas and sonic grenades. The clashes turned more serious shortly after with a number of Molotov cocktails being hurled toward the police who sealed off the area.
According to organizers, one protester suffered a head injury, while 11 other — mainly children and women — were rushed in ambulances to be treated for tear-gas inhalation. All the injuries were said to be minor, according to witnesses.
The protest was organized by the relatives of Muhammad Saeed Al-Sahlawi, a 35-year-old dentist, Hussain Abdul Aziz Al-Hebshi, 32, and Kumail Abdul Hassan, 25. Al-Sahlawi and Al-Hebshi were arrested in November for distributing pamphlets calling for a national boycott of elections. Abdul Hassan was arrested in December during clashes with police over election results.
