Bahrain: Teen Protester Shot Dead · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Protests erupted in Bahrain this weekend as angry mourners buried 16-year-old Ahmed Al-Qattan, who was killed by a bird shot according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, which rarely states the truth about the causes of protestor deaths:
@moi_bahrain: The report of medical examiner of the Public Prosecution attributed the death of Ahmed Jaber to injury of a birdshot.
@moi_bahrain: The Ministry of Interior launches immediate investigation of the death of Ahmed Jaber.
In contrast, the Bahrain News Agency, which fabricated numerous stories during the February 2011 uprising, stated a different cause of death for the killed teenager:
@bna_en: Interior Ministry: Ahmed Al Jaber Died due to Heart Failure http://tinyurl.com/3cxrub4
British blogger Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) tweeted a note on Bahraini media's take on Al-Qattan's death:
@marcowenjones: None of Bahrain's English language newspapers have mentioned the death of Ahmed Jaber al-Qattan. Steve Jobs got a double page spread though.
General Secretary of Al-Wefaq opposition group Ali Salman (@WefaqGS) [ar] mourned the death of Al-Qattan saying:
شعب البحرين يزف أحمد القطان شهيدا اخر على طريق الحرية والديموقراطية اللهم تقبل منا هذا القربا
One of Bahrain's most active Twitter users Mohammed Ashour (@MohmdAshoor) tweeted commenting:
@MohmdAshoor: Ahmed Shams 15 y/o .. Moh'd Farhan 6 y/o .. Ali AlShaikh 14 y/o .. Ahmed Al Qattan 16 y/o .. Child martyrs of Bahrain.
Rula Al-Saffar (@alsaffarrula), head of nursing in Salmaniya Medical Complex who was recently sentenced to 15 years in jail for treating protesters, tweeted about the teen martyr saying:
@alsaffarrula: If our public hospital was safe & had his original medics! Ahmed would have been saved! My heart is bleeding!
Bahraini Twitter user (@BuMuhsin) tweeted a copy of Ahmed's death certificate which states the cause of death is birdshot wounds:
Ahmed Al-Qattan's death certificate
In this video [Warning: Graphic content], protesters who were with Ahmed filmed his last moments. It shows a group of young people gathered around the body checking it for a pulse and signs of life while awaiting medical help in a house. People injured by police in Bahrain are currently afraid to go to hospitals because the police will arrest them there.
Bahraini journalist Abbas Bu Safwan tweeted:
@abbasbusafwan: EVERY ONE MUST KNOW THAT WOUNDED PROTESTERS IN #BAHRAIN CANT GET TREATMENTS IN HOSPITALS FEARING PROSECUTION #UN #USA #EU #UK #ARABSPRING
Of course, the death of Al-Qattan was not going to pass with a simple funeral. Bahrainis from different areas gathered in their thousands for his funeral, which eventually led to clashes with riot police.
@jihankazerooni: Thousands of Bahrainis are participating in the funeral of the Martyr Ahmed Al qattan 16 year old child.
Another Bahraini (@loveforbahrain) posted a video of a riot police car trying to run over those marching to the funeral:
@loveforbahrain: Police trying to run over the marchers in Martyrs Ahmad Alqattan funeral.
Here is also one of the videos from Al-Qattan's funeral which turned into a demonstration with chants against the regime:
Several injuries were reported throughout the evening.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.