Bahraini police kill 16-year-old boy

Bahraini police have stated they have killed a young Bahraini protester in what they claim was a defensive response to a petrol bomb attack. Opposition activists however state the killing of the boy was a "brutal attack."

BBC and Reuters state that this death adds to the more than 45 people who have been killed in demonstrations in the island kingdom since martial law was lifted in June 2011. The boys death also comes a day after Nabeel Rajab, a prominent advocate of human rights was given a three year prison sentence for participating in "illegal gatherings." The Bahraini government claims that, "Terrorists launched petrol bombs at close range, forcing the police to take the necessary actions to defend themselves and innocent bystanders from the potentially lethal attack. Despite warning shots by the police the attack continued; so security personnel dealt with the case according to its legal authority." However the opposition Bahrain Centre for Human Rights states that witnesses saw the security forces brutally attack young Hussam al-Haddad shooting him with pellets and kicking him as he lay wounded on the ground whilst police stood by clearly showing their complicity. A graphic video -- that has yet to be verified -- showed the horrifically scarred body of the boy whilst his devastated family stood by. The main opposition Shia movement to the predominately Sunni Bahraini royal family the Wefaq said that Haddad has been "martyred after being brutally attacked." His funeral -- which took place today -- was reportedly carried out peacefully.