Report: Bahraini forces target wounded protesters

(CNN) -- Bahraini authorities are targeting wounded anti-government protesters and sometimes denying them crucial medical care, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

After weeks of protests in the Persian Gulf nation, Bahraini security forces took over Salmaniya Medical Complex, one of the country's biggest hospitals.

Security forces stormed the hospital on March 16 and since then have been using it as place to identify people who are part of the protests, Human Rights Watch contends.

"Military forces have sought out and threatened, beaten and detained patients injured by tear gas, rubber bullets, birdshot pellets, and live ammunition," the organization said in a statement. "These patients also have been removed from hospitals or forcibly transferred to other medical facilities, often against medical advice."

Bahraini officials could not be immediately reached for comment. But the government has in the past responded to similar claims by Human Rights Watch.

At the time, the organization accused Bahraini forces of a campaign of arresting doctors.

"What such organizations have so far failed to understand is that the services of some of Bahrain's main medical facilities, including Salmaniya Medical Complex, had been overrun by political and sectarian activity," the government said last week.

The arrests and government crackdown is part of an effort to stop thousands of people who have been demonstrating in Bahrain since last month.

The protests are part of a wave that has spread through North Africa and the Middle East. To quell the unrest, Bahrain called in troops from members states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Many have been arrested, with prominent blogger Mahmood al-Yousif among the most recent.

Yousif, who has been caled the "Blogfather" because of his influential anti-sectarianism blog, was arrested Wednesday, his wife told CNN.


(2011-3-30/CNN)