Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
f. The total number of disappearances during the past two days
has reached 85. As of this day, 65 persons continue to be
unaccounted for.
561. The Minister of Health, Nizar Baharna, resigned from the GoB.
Friday, 18 March 2011
562. The GoB continued to ban demonstrations and protests throughout
Bahrain. GoB security forces continued to work to restore order in many
areas of Bahrain and to reopen roads and streets that had been blocked by
protesters.
563. Security checkpoints were established in various areas of Bahrain,
most of which were manned by police personnel. At many of these
checkpoints, individuals were stopped and searched to determine whether they
had participated in anti-government demonstrations. Many persons were
arrested at these checkpoints for possessing articles such as political posters,
signs and pictures of political leaders, or for listening to anti-government
songs or recordings on their car radios. In some instances, drivers were
stopped, searched and detained for beeping their car horns in a manner that
replicated the slogan, “Down … down Hamad”, which had become popular
among protesters during the demonstrations of the past weeks. On a number
of occasions, drivers and passers-by were detained because anti-government
material, such as SMS messages or videos, was saved on their cellular phones,
which were routinely confiscated and examined at these checkpoints.
564. People stopped at these checkpoints were subjected to various forms
of mistreatment, such as pushing, shoving, kicking and beating with batons.
Shia individuals, stopped at these checkpoints, were verbally abused because
of their religious and sectarian beliefs.
565. A number of individuals were also arrested at SMC. One of those was
arrested at 11:00 for carrying a knife in the vicinity of Gate 6 of SMC.
Another was detained at 13:00 for carrying anti-government posters and
leaflets.
566. The pearl monument at the centre of the GCC Roundabout was
demolished and the roundabout was transformed into a juncture. The GoB
announced that this change was to improve the flow of traffic in the area. One
foreign worker was killed when one of the beams carrying the pearl at the top
of the monument fell on the crane he was operating.
567. Clashes between police units and civilians were recorded in numerous
areas as protesters attempted to organise demonstrations and rallies from their
neighbourhoods. Protests and confrontations with police units were reported
in areas including Karzakan, Bilad Al-Qadeem, Nuwaidrat, Ras Ruman, Al-
Mukharaqa, Juffair, Sanabis, Sitra, Bani Jamra, Hamad Town, Issa Town,
Bouri, and Al-Mahooz.
568. Large numbers of people were arrested in many of the
neighbourhoods that witnessed clashes between protesters and police units.
Most of those arrested were youth below the age of 30 who were detained
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