Bahraini nurse calls on international support after police kill 16 yr old during crackdown on anniversary of democracy protests.
Hussain Al Jaziri, 16 years old, was killed by Bahraini security forces yesterday as the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters intensifies around the second anniversary of Bahrain’s ‘forgotten Arab Spring’. Rula al Saffar, President of Bahrain Nursing Society and recently voted 11th most influential person in the Middle East described,
“Bahrain is like a warzone. There are soldiers in war helmets with guns and checkpoints everywhere. The people are protesting peacefully and they respond with bullets and tear gas”.
She is currently treating the injured in the country’s capital, Manama.
“This morning I treated a 12 year-old boy who had been burnt half to death by the riot police. Then a 16 year-old boy was later killed, shot by police at a distance of less than one meter. His name was Hassan al Jaziri (photos attached). These are our children. We are in so much pain in Bahrain”, she said.
Rula is appealing to the international community to generate political pressure to stop the violence.
“On February 14 2011 a young man was killed by riot police in the same village as Hussain Al Jaziri during the first wave of pro-democracy protests”, said Bahraini refugee Abdulelah al Hubaishi, now based in Sydney, Australia.
“Only two years later and history is repeating itself. There is no hope for the Al Khalifa regime. The international community needs to echo the demands of Bahraini people and call for an elected government and the release of all political prisoners”, he continued.
On Wednesday 13 February, the Bahraini Australian Youth Movement hosted a press conference at Federal Parliament House where Federal MP Laurie Ferguson and Greens leader Christine Milne announced federal motions condemning the ongoing violence.
The Australian Nursing Federation, the country’s largest health union, has also launched a solidarity campaign with persecuted nurses and other health workers in Bahrain.
Abdulelah al Hubaishi will address a public meeting at Unions NSW in Sydney tomorrow 4pm to mark the second anniversary of the crackdown in Bahrain.
Media contact: Olivia Nigro +61 401 955 405