Marc Owen Jones

Burial of Those Allegedly Killed at Sea Adds to Suspicions of MOI’s Version of Events

Yesterday, the MOI supervised the burial of Redha Al Ghasra, Mustafa Yusif, and Mahmud Yusif. While the MOI usually release the bodies of those they kill to the families, including the three who were executed in January, they did not do so on this occasion. Instead, families were threatened and denied access to the burial site. It is not unknown for the MOI to prevent burial access to limit public disturbances, although it is not a reasonable justification as denial will also lead to similar disturbances. This has raised further suspicions about the true nature of their death (the MOI claimed they were shot at sea in an escape attempt…to Iran). Specifically, it has not allowed people to take photos or properly examine the bodies of those killed to help corroborate the MOI’s story.

Burial

There was also a report that those attempting to access the burial site were threatened with ‘repression’ if they did not leave.

Photo reportedly showing the burial site, surrounded by some close family and the security services

 Wounds

There were also detailed Tweets that presumably leaked out that documented the wounds on the bodies of the deceased.  Redha reportedly was shot three times in the head, as well as the chest and shoulder. Given the video of the shooting, which only showed the sec forces opening fire on one person, it is potentially surprising that the haphazard manner of firing resulted in three head shots.  The information on the bodies also suggests that Mahmood Yusif’s body in particular bore signs of torture, with numerous fractures and bruises. Mustafha Yusif’s body also reportedly had evidence of stab wounds in the neck, and shotgun pellet wounds on the legs/feet/. It is obviously difficult to determine without an independent forensic examination whether, for example, the wounds in the back of Mustafa Yusif were entry or exit wounds. However, if they are entry wounds, one must ask why he was shot in the back if the official version of events was that the group opened fire on the sec forces (Mustafa was also reportedly driving the boat).

deets

The account @Bahraindoctor posted a photo of Mahmud Yusif that materialised on the day of the shooting. As mentioned, Mahmud was reportedly not shot with live rounds, and according to this medical analysis, the bruising around the eyes is indicative of a non-recent skull injury. This potentially raises further questions of when and how he was killed.

Given that three of them were reportedly shot by the security forces in an exchange of gunfire, then it is interesting to explore why in particular one of those killed reportedly had no gunshot wounds. We still know that the MOI have videoed the event from three different angles, and so are sitting on information that would help clarify the sequence of events leading up to the alleged killing.

**Update**

The death certificates of the three killed were disseminated today (14 Feb). All deaths are attributed to gunshot sounds to various parts of the body. While there have been no independent verification of the wounds, the death certificates state he was killed by gunshots to the head and chest. If the above reports about Mahmud are correct, then he bore no notable gunshot wounds. None are clear from the alleged photo either. In such a well documented event, complete with videos, it not clear why each death certificate would say ‘about 5am’. Bear in mind the MOI in their statement said a ship was detected/intercepted (it is not clear) at 5.28am on the day of death.

whatsapp-image-2017-02-14-at-18-34-47
Mahmud
whatsapp-image-2017-02-14-at-18-34-41
Reda
whatsapp-image-2017-02-14-at-18-34-40
Mustafa

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Comments (

2

)

  1. How a spate of killings in Bahrain has raised suspicions of state brutality – GCC

    […] Why did the few accounts of those who saw the bodies seemingly not tally with the wounds mentioned on the death certificates? Fundamentally, how did the operation result in three […]

    Reply
  2. How a spate of killings in Bahrain has raised suspicions of state brutality | VOB.ORG

    […] Why did the few accounts of those who saw the bodies seemingly not tally with the wounds mentioned on the death certificates? Fundamentally, how did the operation result in three […]

    Reply