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Subscribe to RSSBahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the use of tear gas by security forces, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday after the Gulf kingdom reported that a man had died while in custody.
Reuters reported that Bahrain's Interior Ministry said that a man detained by police over "acts of sabotage" died in the hospital, without elaborating on the cause of death.
According to Amnesty, a Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces' use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people's homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.
Bahrain fires tear gas, stun grenades to halt protesters
A 20-year-old was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police, the group said. Amnesty went on to document a series of incidents that allegedly showed how tear gas had been used improperly, including against women, children and the elderly.
Bahrain last year crushed protests led by its Shiite Muslim majority demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and limits to the authority of the Sunni ruling family, relying in part on backing from troops from fellow Sunni-led Gulf monarchies.
More than a thousand people were detained in the crackdown, at least four of whom died in official custody. An inquiry Bahrain commissioned into the protests and government crackdown found systematic abuse of detainees, including torture.
The ministry said last month it would begin recording the questioning of detainees in line with the recommendations of the inquiry, which also disputed Bahrain's claim that the protests were fomented by Iran through its Shiite coreligionists.
Bahrain to citizens living abroad: Spy on countrymen, no protests permitted
Washington, which bases its Fifth Fleet on the Gulf island, has linked a $53 million arms sale to the kingdom's response to the inquiry. Bahrain has said it is implementing the inquiry's recommendations, but the top U.N. human rights official argues that Bahrain is not punishing those behind abuses.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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This incident, tragedy depicts America's hypocrisy to the nth degree. We can't stand Iran for enforcing its laws to protect their citizens from American imperialism and our hypocritical government doesn't even condemn Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but it gives them tacit encouragement. Heck, Saudi Arabia even invaded another country and we kept silent. Oh hypocrisy, how I love thee, let me count the ways!
Go kiss your camel, Abdul
I guess you didn't actually read the article, did you Hell no, you didn't.
If they don't fix whats broke, the deal is a no go. Our government is far from perfect, but they do occasionally get things right. Maybe you should try actually reading the entire article and not just the headline before spouting your anti-government nonsense.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. Yet, we support them. Oil does have a way of affecting basic morality.
it would seem anything that is well lubricated has that effect on man. I won't cite specific examples.
Excuse me, but tear gas is NON-LETHAL!!!!!!! During my time in the Service, starting in 1965, we used tear gas a LOT, during the L.A. Watts riots and again in the Bay Area dispersing the Anti-American, Communist inspired and backed Liberals protesting Vietnam, and Racial crap, and guess what? Even in a cloud of gas so thick you couldn't see through it, no mask, no one died.
Another lie by the Leftists to create fear-mongering, because tear gas will not kill you!!!!!! Nerve agents, yes, but not tear gas, ever. I know, there will come the trumpet of "My second Cousins great Aunts neighbor witnessed tear-gas killing Millions and Millions of people."
Best answer yet is to just not be in the crowd, stay home or go home. If you aren't there, you can't get hurt. The only ones killed or hurt by "Tear-gas" are those running from it trampling slower exitees on their way out of the zone. Just follow the commands, and no one ever gets "Killed" or hutrt. Blatant lie!!!!!!!
Ray, I'm thinking they are talking about MISUSE of tear gas. Like shooting gas grenades at close range, not on the ground but into peoples faces and heads maybe......not the gas killing them, More like fractured skulls from face shots and head shots. The canisters blunt force impact, not the gas itself, just the container.......
Not all gas grenades are thrown, some are fired from a grenade launcher.
Ray... I'll partially agree with j burk, and add this.
The "tear" gas used in the 60's is no where near as bad as what they use today. Then, it was pretty much just CN or CS.
Today, it's a mix of CS, pepper (capsaisin, spelling?) and others. It IS really nasty and if you already had breathing issues, I CAN see where it could be deadly.
Best thing we could do is let them use these tear gas canisters on Amnesty International and get them out of everyone's hair permentantly. They're more of a problem than the human rights abuses crying foul when there isn't an issue.
Has obama responded to this yet? Clinton?
i like how ray instantly blames it on a lefty
can somone tell me why conservatives r like this ;/ ?
like if you cant debate or state an opinion correctly, just dont do it
when in doudt, you poke at a lefty
who doesnt even exist, BECAUSE NO ONE SAID THEY WERE
Good job, see you rage in the next article
Pippy OUT!
Ray is right. Stay home. Washington, Franklin, Jeffeson. Damn trouble makers. Who did they think they were, demanding all these rights, and such. Just go home, sit down, shut up, and pay your taxes.
Any country that buys weapons from the usa is our FRIEND
Let's attack Iraq again!!!!!!!!!!
They are an Islamocracy and they are best friends with Iran.
10 more years! 10 more years! Brought to you by the Rick Perry campaign!
***Please flush your taxpayer dollars down the toilet responsibly.
Add Kuwait, UAE, Pakistan and many more to the list.
Bahrain, a smaller nation, is in as bad or worse state than Syria, Iran and other Saudi Arabian opponents.
Saudi Arabia and all its allies/friends don't come under the radars of human rights groups, UN, ICC and many in the US, Britain and European nations.
In the operas conducted in the name of human rights, women rights, democracy, secularism and all big words, Saudi Arabia has the baton.
Oil companies and lobbyists make sure that others dance as the most bigoted, barbaric and beastly Saudi rulers direct.
Ray,
you're making honorable service members look bad. Some of us actually know why we served.
Be safe.....service men and women of Commander Fifth Fleet.
For Bennie123. First of all, I'm not even Muslim, I am catholic, but I can say w/o any doubt that I know who you are and to make you feel at home, let me salute you: Heil Hitler!
Once again the US is criticizing a Muslim country for abusing it's own citizens when that is what they do. We have to mind our own business and if they want to kill, maine and torture their own people and their people support this then it's their own fault for supporting a quasi religious political machine known as Islam.
Examine the damages 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars have done!
Since 2003, futures' traders, rating agencies, oil companies and Wall Street transferred five trillion dollars from oil importing nations to oil exporting nations.
Inside the US, see the nit-picking when it comes to elderly, sickly, unemployed and welfare measures!
At least past should teach us that we should not go near these Muslim nations!
False premise. Faulty analysis. Fallacious conclusion. Sorry but you are absolutely wrong in your facts, and in your malicious innuendo.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Jordon, Kuwait, etc., are NOT Muslim countries although Muslims do live there. Just as the US and Britain are NOT Christian countries although Christians do live there.
In addition, any so called Muslim country that has foreign troops based in them are by definition NOT Muslim - this is fundamental in Islam as commanded in the Noble Koran. All these above named countries have foreign troops based in them and thus can not be considered Islamic or Muslim by any stretch of the imagination.
Further, in their actions and behaviour the governments of these countries work contrary to the Commands of Allah as transmitted by Muhammad and as documented and verifiable in the Noble Koran.
As for the torture...it happens every day in the US and under its supervision abroad, but is just kept under wraps - one reason why the US is unable to mind its own business.
You constructed a straw-man as devious manipulative people often do.
Sorry. Try again.
The hit in the head with tear gas canister, sounds familiar why, because it happened to a OWS protester, who was also a US Veteran, who had stopped by after work, still recovering from his head wounds!
You want to break the law, interfer with everyone elses lives, refuse lawful orders to disperse then you get hit in the head. Being a veteran doesn't mean you get to be a dumb@44
There's also something criminal about making more money before you finish your first cup of coffee in the morning then most of your employees make in a year and paying 15% or less in taxes on it while those employees pay 38% on what they make.
Khan - nothing illegal about that at all. One either takes risk at some point in time or never does. Don't forget to buy your lotto ticket twice a week....
Where is the outrage of "world community" and all "people of good will"? When Israeli gas canister hit a Pali in the head, or an Arab woman died of inhaling Israeli tear gas because she was asthmatic in the first place and shouldn't have participated in the riots when tear gas use was expected, all these"people of good will" were all over it. Apparently when Arabs kill Arabs it's normal; only Jews must be condemned.
Pleny of people are outraged Anon. It aint just the yids that need to be brought to heel when they act like jerks.
Of course I've already made an assumption about you, and it says that you supported that rent-a-swine at Davis for pepperspraying those kids.
Just proves the racist bigot gobs that infest the leftist hypocritical party.
"But they were ignoring calls by the legitimate authorities to disperse, which makes them criminals, US law enforcement could learn a thing or two by the cops in Bahrain and stop treating the OWS scum with kid gloves. Choke a few of 'em out with actual gas, that might cause some real tears, get em to re think messing with law abiding citizens.
Seriously, there are quite a few folks in this country that advocate using deadly force on protestors. It's scary. And those people like to call liberals 'fascists'. It's like they can't rely on their own brain to read a definition, but just open their head and let the fixed news @$$*%l*s just pour their thoughts in fully-formed.
Nah not deadly, just turn the german shepherds loose,
focus503:
Actually Bahraini police are learning from Americans. They hired as an adviser former NYPD Chief and deputy commish Timoney.
Shame on us. We only talk about democracy. It is all a bunch of lies. This thing has been going on every day in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia. Our news channels including this one only covers it once in a while. We can get news from every where. We kind of lost trust on these TV stations. It will come to an end sooner or later. We have the greatest democratic system of the government on earth that MONEY can buy.
we live in a republic, we vote for our lawmaking rulers, not our laws. we are not a democracy and never have been.
Actually we are a Democratic Republic if you want to be technical.
Actually we are a Constitutional Republic, which is redundant seeing as how the term republic already implies a constitutional democracy. But as Benjamin Franklin stated when asked what sort of government we have he answered "...a republic..." He would probably know.
Actually we are in a Cleptocracy where the wealthy make the laws so they can steal from the rest of us.
So it isn't the tear gas itself that kills, but the canisters shot at people's heads as well as mysterious happenings at the hospital... sounds about normal for a police state\corrupt government
Cool, I wonder what they were putting in the canisters, VX nerve gas maybe?? It's called population control, we don't need these terrorist Muslim psychopaths anyways. Kill 'em all.
The terrorists in the white house would have condemned this type of behavior had it Iran been involved, but in case of Bahrain and saudi Arabia they would offer them help to kill, and torture their citizens.
No wonder why they hate the US.
Obama is a neocon, a hypocrite, aand a terrorist.
The "protesters" are shi'ites allied with and supported by Iran. Sent to Bahrain as a fifth column.
thats how they will take the USA, obama will keep letting these idiots in the states, taliban, obama's and bidens new found friends and when they have enough they will start killing, now that we will have 100,000 less ground troops thanks to obama, instead of getting rid of the epa and other @!$%#s in the government to save the troops, christ we don't even have enough jobs for those men, what the hell is obama going to do now, food stamp them to death. food stamps and unemployment, @!$%# be cheaper to keep them in the service.
Fall of Bahrain is going to cost the US tremendously.
The Saudis have troops there no problem.
Hard to wrap ones head around the hypocrisy - it is not even subtle. While we display outrage in regards Iran and Syria's treatment of their populations, this goes in on Bahrain ( and Saudi Arabia ) with nary a peep from our pillars of principle ( dem and rep alike ). Add in the fact that the IRC and doctors without borders reports essentially unbelievable levels of torture going on in Libya at this time - to the point that they have identified patients who have been undergoing torture brought to them to keep them alive, so they can be tortured and brought to them again. Yes, we have done a good job and brought 'peace and harmony to them'. We clearly know what we are doing?
If you are actually "wrapping ones head" around anything you are in serious trouble. When did the saying, "wrapping ones arms" around a problem or idea, get changed to wrapping ones head around anything? One is totally plausible, the other is totally impossible without great pain and suffering...........
Bahrain has hired Blackwater scum to police it's kingdom.
And here is Eric Prince and fatalities all over again.
Protests will keep erupting in Bahrain and USA will keep selling them weapons. Only thing they must release a human rights abuse report documenting their torture before each transaction so there can be some entertainment and the report can be stapled to the reciept for legitamate business purposes. $53,000,000 ONE SHOT. Nice! Someone made big proooofits.
We have a base there, we have an interest in peace in the region, we need to upset the existing government of Bahrain even though we want our base safe and we need to be Friends with that government , we think , but, If we allow governments that appear to be our allies to wrong their citizenry, we will be classed with them as the same type of government. Here if we are dissatisfied with who our government befriends, we can vote that group out of power. So, Is it the Dems or the GOP that is buddies with this murderous government of bahrain? Speak up , and get your pink slip , or correct this.
We need a generic "for rent" government foundation to run all these wayward kingdoms until the citizens can be trained to take over. we don't need another military regime in power like in Egypt.
I was teaching in the Middle East myself and I know Bahrain - it is basically a morose place to be - people hide everything to stay out of trouble. I saw Arab men (drinking alcohol in a dark room in the basement of our hotel - a hidden bar - they had their dishdashah and on (the white robe and gutrah - white head scarf worn by the richer men) and they were watching women dance on a stage just like in the U.S - who'd a thought it..... when I popped my head in it was so funny to see their looks - momma didn't know where Pappa was - so you see it isn't any difference - hypocrisy here and there ....
If that was the Hilton, that bar is suposed to be for Arabs only. Unless you are invited you shouldn't have been there, they go there to avoid westerners.
I don't see the hypocrisy in this story. Now if the men in the bar were the ones that wrote or enforced the laws I would see it but what I got from your story is that men are the same around the world. They like to drink and watch girls. In that country you have to hide to escape being arrested for doing that. That to me is not hypocracy but smart. LOL love ya all, going home
I guess this means no more late night trips to the Garfield club in Manama to pick up rich Saudi girls. I spent alot of time in Manama, and the rest of that rock for that matter and they are far more liberal than any nation in the region aside from UAE. Unless your there keep your comments to yourself, not too long ago it was a nation of spoiled brats that are now pissed that they got slapped from the tit.
On a final note, anyone know if the Sherlock Holmes is still open at the Gulf Hotel?
I'm not sure how much has changed but there were several OPEN bars in every hotel in Manama. The largest building on the causeway was the changing area for the Saudis to change into the western clothes on the way to Bahrain and into traditional garb for the trip home. I was served drinks on the Shieks private beach. IF it's changed that much I'd be pissed too.
Who made it, Dow Chemical or Union Carbide?
Probably a partnership of the two, mid 80"s India vintage I'm sure.
Well, it took care of the protesters. Oh well!!!
Is it the base to bomb Iran from ??
What a bunch of cry babies...
if you muslims don't like it here leave. you are not going to change americas culture .bottom line. go back to your middle eastern dictatorships. become americans or leave. the wrath of the the american people is still sleeping.
why is it bad to gas protestors there, but ok to gas protestors here? Republican Mayers are no different that muslim leaders when it comes to treating people who have issues and turn to protest in the streets.
Actually its the Dem Mayors and cities, where all the severe accidents are happening to the protesters.. I wonder if its because, they fear the protesters or more likely just doing it to fire up their base. Sheeple who will automatically blame it on the repubs, you know like yourself..
Sam- Your right about Dem Mayors, there are Rep too. The point is that the OWS isn't a Dem thing it's an American thing, and maybe where she got confused is people on faux noise saying this is controlled by the left, and the WH! And why are we teargassing our own people peacefully protesting!
Another story for the "Who cares?" label.
Just proves the cops there are at least as trained as ours are.
God will deal with the muslims. That is a fact of the Holy Bible. Read: Abraham....Isaac....Ishmael. All you need to know about why the "middle east" is an evil place. All you need to know why Israel will be blessed.
I read the bible and there was nothing absolutely nothing about the Muslims. The irony is that the Muslims believe whats in the bible except for some minor details comapared to the Jews. What if the Muslims are right, you're totally screwed, then!! and if you are right, they would be ok, not great, but ok.
Remember its a belief, not science..so shove it .....
It is OK to use Pepper Spray in the eyes of Peaceful protestor's here but not in other countries. Where was Amnesty when that was going on here not too long ago?? I think Freedom is great just as long as you don't Protest when there is a reason for protesting.