Manama, March 31: The Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses Bahraini forces of using violence on people that had received injury during government-ordered crackdown of the popular revolution.
The rights body said on Wednesday that it had documented several cases in which the forces had “severely harassed or beaten” patients that were under medical care in the country’s Salmaniya hospital in the capital Manama, Reuters reported.
“These people who need treatment are facing this difficult choice, and many choose not to go to the hospital,” said HRW’s Bahrain researcher Faraz Saneif.
The forces would swoop on the hospital soon after the wounded provide the medical authorities with their identification to receive treatment.
The rights group said the victims had already been exposed to tear gas and targeted with rubber bullets and birdshots.
The revolution started to sweep throughout the Shia-majority Persian Gulf island on February 14, calling for the ouster of the 230-year-old Sunni-led monarchy as well as constitutional reforms.
Backed by forces deployed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arabia Emirates, the government has launched indiscriminate armed attacks on peaceful protesters.
At least 24 people have been killed and about 1,000 others injured during the Manama-sanctioned violence.
HRW said the harassments of the injured began after the government seized the medical center — the country’s largest public hospital — in a March 16 attack.
“It will be an ongoing problem as disturbances continue in villages surrounding Manama,” Saneif said.
A Media correspondent reported that the forces have imposed a siege on several villages near the capital.
——–Agencies