Updated on
Summary Opposition activists say at least 80 people have died since in one year.
Bahrain has banned all protests and gatherings amid clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators.Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifah said repeated abuse of the rights to freedom of speech and expression could no longer be accepted.Protests would be permitted only once security and stability were sufficient to maintain national unity, he added.Demonstrations were last banned during the three-month state of emergency King Hamad declared in March 2011.The previous month protesters had occupied a prominent landmark in Manama, the now-demolished Pearl Roundabout, demanding more democracy and an end to what they said was discrimination against the majority Shia Muslim community by the Sunni royal family.At least 35 people, including five police officers, were killed, hundreds were injured and thousands jailed in February and March 2011.Since then, opposition and human rights activists say another 45 people have been killed, a figure which the government disputes.In the past two weeks, officials say two policemen have died of injuries sustained during clashes with protesters in villages outside Manama.In a statement announcing the ban on rallies and public gatherings, Sheikh Rashid said the government had strived to protect freedom of expression but the privilege had been abused repeatedly by organisers, with participants showing a lack of commitment to the law.The interior minister said any illegal rally or gathering would be tackled through legal actionsThe protests, which the interior minister said had called for the overthrow of the state and leading national figures, were devoid of respect and intended to humiliate, and therefore jeopardised civil peace and disturbed security and general order. This, he said, could not be accepted.
