(30 May 2016) Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas and clashed with stone-throwing protesters after the funeral of a wanted teenager who died of severe injuries sustained while fleeing police.
A few thousand Bahrainis marched in a politically charged funeral procession for 18-year-old Ali Abdulghani, in the western Shiite Muslim village of Shahrakan.
They shouted anti-government slogans and carried posters of Abdulghani, who had been wanted by police to serve a five-year sentence for taking part in unauthorised protests.
Clashes erupted as the funeral ended.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said Abdulghani sustained a head injury on March 31st when he fell from a building while fleeing police.
His death was announced on April 4th.
Opposition activists question the circumstances and are demanding an independent investigation.
Abdulghani's death has touched a nerve among Bahrain's majority Shiites, who since 2011 have been protesting for greater rights from the Sunni-ruled monarchy.
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Bahrain government said a police officer has been killed and two others were seriously wounded in a petrol bomb attack in the tiny island kingdom.
The country's Interior Ministry announced the unidentified officer's death on April 16th in the village of Karbabad, on the edge of the capital, Manama.
The ministry said an investigation into the attack was ongoing but did not elaborate on who may have planted the bomb, beyond describing it as a "terrorist act."
Protesters in Bahrain have recently thrown similar bombs in skirmishes with authorities.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, has seen low-level unrest since 2011 Arab Spring-inspired protests by the kingdom's majority-Shiite population, which seeks more political power from the island's Sunni rulers.
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A Bahraini appeals court on May 30th more than doubled the prison term for the country's top Shiite opposition figure in a ruling that his political bloc blasted as "unacceptable and provocative."
Sheikh Ali Salman now faces nine years behind bars, up from an earlier four, following his conviction in 2015 on charges that included incitement and insulting the Interior Ministry.
Salman is the secretary-general of Al-Wefaq, the country's largest Shiite political group.
He was a key figure in Bahrain's 2011 Arab Spring-inspired uprising, which was dominated by the island nation's Shiite majority and sought greater political rights from the Sunni monarchy.
The case against Salman relates to speeches he gave between 2012 and 2014, though Al-Wefaq has said his words were taken out of context.
He was convicted and sentenced by a lower court in June.
Both sides appealed that verdict, with the court ruling on May 30th in favour of the prosecution while rejecting Salman's appeal, according to a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Salman was sentenced to seven years in prison on three charges that included "promoting forceful change of the political regime" and inciting disobedience.
A two-year sentence related to the comments against the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police forces, was also upheld, according to BNA.
Al-Wefaq boycotted parliamentary elections in 2014, saying it wants greater power-sharing between elected lawmakers and the monarchy, the release of political prisoners and a prime minister chosen by elected officials.
The current prime minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, is an uncle of the king and has held power for more than four decades.
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