Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the arrest of ex-MP Khalil Marzooq on charges of inciting terrorism. The protest came hours after protestors and police clashed in the nearby village of Shaharkhan.
AFP reports that during the protest, people waved Bahraini flags and chanted “We will not forget the martyrs.” The protests were largely peaceful and in sharp contrast to the Shaharkhan clashes, where people threw Molotov cocktails at police and set a vehicle on fire.
The police used tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to approach Pearl Square, the epicenter of the 2011 protests.
After Mr. Mazrooq was arrested, opposition groups withdrew their participation in reconciliation talks aimed at ending Bahrain’s political impasse. Mr. Mazrooq was the Deputy Speaker of Bahrain’s Parliament. He relinquished his post after 18 MPs from his Al-Wefaq movement walked out to express their protest against the violence against protestors during the 2011 protests.
The majority of the population in Bahrain is Shia. The country is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. Bahrain’s rulers brutally crushed a revolution modeled after the Arab spring protests in 2011.
