BAHRAIN.— Authorities have arrested blogger and human rights activist Zainab Al-Khawaja after security forces clashed with protesters during a demonstration in Manama.

Al-Khawaja, daughter of a prominent opposition leader, and several other women had refused to leave a sit-in in the Budaiya roundabout.

Al-Khawaja was handcuffed and taken away by police along with one other woman.

Bahrain’s interior ministry reported that Al-Khawaja and the other woman were arrested for taking part in an “illegal gathering”.

Authorities also claimed that one of the women had “attacked” a female police officer during the protest, no images of an attack on an officer have been released however.

A video posted online by opposition demonstrators shows the arrest of Al-Khawaja.

The video shows Zainab being dragged away from the demonstration by police.

At one point in the video, it appears that Al-Khawaja is punched by a female officer participating in the arrest.

One of the activists who recorded the protest claims that he was interrogated at a police station after the demonstration and authorities confiscated both of his phones.

According to witnesses, prior to the arrests security forces had fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the hundreds of protesters trying to block the road.

Adam Ellick, a New York Times journalist, reported that gas was “fired directly at 15 guys sipping coffee outside. None were protesting.”

BAHRAIN.— Hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of a teenage protester who was killed by a police vehicle during a demonstration in Juffair, Manama.

The funeral procession for the 16-year-old victim was broken up by security forces firing tear gas into the crowds. Several people collapsed from tear gas inhalation.

Alledgedly, Ali Youssef Bagdar died “after he was hit by a police patrol car” that skidded into a group of protesters from an oil spill on the road.

“Shortly after midnight, vandals had poured oil on Al Shabab road, causing the driver of a police patrol car to lose control of the vehicle and hit the pedestrian, who died at the scene,” a statement issued by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said.

Authorities are further investigating the circumstances of the boy’s death.

Ibrahim Ali Bagdar, uncle of the deceased, said he rushed to accident with Ali Bagdar’s father but police had cordoned of the area and would not let anybody near the site.

“Our boy was dead and they left him laying on the street for hours,” the uncle said.

The incident occurred just days before The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry panel was set to release a report on Bahrain protests, in which more than 30 people have been killed since they began in February of this year.

BAHRAIN.— The Bahraini government has released Ayat al-Qurmozi, a Muslim poet, who was sentenced to one year in prison for reciting a poem critiquing the country’s ruling family.

In February, the twenty-year-old teacher trainee, a student at the Teacher’s College of Bahrain, attended a pro-democracy rally in the Pearl Roundabout where she read a poem to the crowd. The poem mocked the ruling Al Khalifa family and called for the king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to step down.

Short afterwards Al- Qurmozi went into hiding in fear of the government. Police reportedly flooded into her parents’ home and threatened to kill her brothers and  parents if she wasn’t located promptly, Ayat then turned herself in.

Ayat al-Qurmozi returned home on Thursday, she remains under house arrest, however. She is one of nearly 200 people released this week, according to human rights groups in Bahrain.

Al-Qurmozi claims that she was beaten while in prison. Al-Qurmozi also explained that as a condition of her release she was made to promise not to attend protests or speak with the media.

“I’m not afraid to speak out though. I have something to say and I won’t be afraid because of a paper I signed… I hope Bahrain can move away from the crisis to a transition into a better future, without discrimination or sectarianism,” she said.

Protests continue across Bahrain and dozens of protesters remain jailed, including eight who were sentenced just last month to life terms.

On April 28, Ali Abdullah Hassan al-Sankis, Qassim Hassan Matar, Saeed Abduljalil Saeed and Adbulaziz Abdulridha Ibrahim Hussain were sentenced to death by a military court although they are civilians, the trial was conducted behind closed doors.

The prosecution argued premeditated murder of two police officers during anti-government protests in March, they accused the men of deliberately running down  the officers with a vehicle.

 Three other defendants tried with them – Issa Abdullah Kadhim Ali, Sadeq Ali Mahdi and Hussein Jaafar Abdulkarim were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. All the men ardently deny the charge.

The seven defendants are believed to have  tried by the National Safety Court of First Instance, a court established under the State of National Safety (SNS), a national state of emergency declared by the King of Bahrain.

The provisions of the SNS are broad and vague, it contains no human rights guarantees.

The National Safety Court of First Instance was established to try individuals accused of crimes committed under the state of emergency. A National Safety Appeal Court was created to hear appeals from this special court.

The defendents will likely make appeals. In any case the appeals may be held very quickly and the four men under sentence of death may be at imminent risk of execution.

The accused men are believed to have been held incommunicado and to have subjected to torture during their detention.

Human rights groups have pushed for a thorough and independent inquiry into all human rights abuses committed during and in lue of the recent protests. The groups have urged the Bahraini government to bring justice to the guilty parties through fair trials sans the death penalty. They have called on Bahraini government to lessen the sentences of those facing execution if confirmed by the appeal courts.