Regime forces attack Bahraini mourners

Bahraini regime forces have attacked a gathering of mourners who were commemorating a teenager killed during an anti-government demonstration in November Press TV reports. Saudi-backed Bahraini forces fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse mourners in Juffair village, near the capital Manama, on Wednesday evening. On November 19, 16-year-old Ali al-Badah died after he was run over by a police vehicle during an anti-regime protest in Juffair. Regime forces continue their crackdown on peaceful protests across the country. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands more have been arrested or fired from their jobs in Bahrain since the beginning of the uprising in February. Many health workers, teachers, opposition figures and human rights activists are still facing trial or serving prison terms over participation in demonstrations. On Tuesday, several demonstrators were arrested in the Ma'ameer village, the eastern town of Sitra and the village of Dair, located on the northern coast of the Muharraq Island. Moreover, Bahraini workers, sacked earlier by government authorities for participating in popular protests, once again gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Manama on Tuesday to demand reinstatement. In a statement issued on December 21, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said, “Thousands of individuals have lost their jobs for participating in demonstrations, many students have had their education derailed -- these serious violations of their economic and social rights must be immediately addressed. Those who have been unfairly dismissed should be reinstated to their original functions.” Pillay also called on Bahraini authorities to “urgently take confidence-building measures, including unconditionally releasing those who were convicted in military tribunals or are still awaiting trial for merely exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”