Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Chapter IV — Narrative of Events of February and March 2011
f. Expatriate workers are considered guests who have always
been respectful towards the people and who will always be
treated with respect.
589. The GFBTU announced that it would indefinitely extend a general
strike that it had called for in previous weeks. The Secretary General of the
union announced, “Workers are scared to go out to work as there are
checkpoints everywhere and in some cases they are questioned unnecessarily
by authorities.”
Monday, 21 March 2011
590. Many aspects of life in Bahrain continued to return to normality.
Many businesses were now operating, students were returning to schools and
universities, and ordinary traffic flows resumed except in areas where
confrontations continued between riot police and demonstrations.
591. Police at checkpoints continued to search vehicles and persons in
many areas of Bahrain, and continued to arrest individuals carrying antigovernment
material. Public security forces also continued to arrest
individuals who were participating in gatherings or protests in a number of
villages, such as Sitra, Sanabis, Karbabad, Karzakan, Issa Town and Hamad
Town. Many of the arrested individuals were under the age of 30, including
children under the age of 18 and some under the age of 15. As in previous
days, these persons were taken to and detained at nearby police stations,
where they were subjected to various forms of mistreatment, including
beating, slapping, kicking, lashing with rubber hoses and verbal abuse directed
in particular against religious and sectarian beliefs of Shia.
592. A number of employees of security services reported being harassed,
and at times assaulted, by unidentified individuals. Some MoI and BDF
personnel also reported findings markings on the entrances to their residences
as a threat of retribution for the ongoing operations by governmental security
services.
593. The Valieh Faghih of Iran and the Supreme Leader of the Iranian
Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that the “victory of the
people of Bahrain was inevitable”, and expressed the view that the ongoing
events in Bahrain were similar to developments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and
Yemen. The Supreme Leader rejected accusations that Iran was “supporting
the people of Bahrain because they are Shia”, and affirmed that the policy of
the “Islamic Republic of Iran is predicated on defending the people and their
rights against all dictatorial and egotistical rulers without distinguishing
between Sunnis and Shia.” Grand Ayatollah Khamenei added, “Saudi Arabia
committed a mistake by sending its forces into Bahrain because this enrages
the Islamic nations.”
594. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran also summoned the Chargé
d’Affaires at the Bahraini embassy in Tehran to request the departure of one of
the embassy’s diplomatic officers in response to Bahrain’s decision to declare
a member of the Iranian embassy in Manama persona non grata.
155