ABU SAIBA, Bahrain - A new wave of clashes between Bahraini police and protesters broke out Saturday night in the Shia village Abu Saiba, west of the capital Manama, after the authorities arrested a youth earlier in the day. Radhi Ali Radhi, who is in his early 20s, was arrested at his home on suspicion that he took part in a riot in the Shia village of Bani Jamarah earlier in the week where anti-riot police came under attack by Molotov cocktails.Radhi was arrested Friday following a dawn raid, which provoked relatives and friends to organize a protest in front of the village entrance to demand his release. His family tried to see him at the police station but they were denied and turned away without being given a reason for his arrest.
The protest turned into clashes after police tried to disperse the crowds, after organizers failed to do so. Protesters burned trash and hurled stones and empty bottles at anti-riot police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. At least two protesters suffered exhaustion following inhaling tear gas, but there were no reports of injuries among police.
“This was a peaceful protest and it would have ended peacefully had the police not intervened,” one organizer said.
A police official on the scene pointed out that Bahraini law prohibits holding protests without prior notice and following sunset. “They were given a five-minute warning to disperse and we had anti-riot police placed visibly at distance to encourage a peaceful end to this situation before they started hurling stones at police,” the police official said.