Post date: Apr 23, 2012 9:7:4 AM
MANAMA, BAHRAIN (APRIL 22, 2012) (REUTERS ) - The family of a protester who died after clashes with police on Friday night say that they have yet to see his full body.
The family of protester found dead on Friday night accuse the government of holding his body so the funeral wouldn't coincide with the main Formula One race in Bahrain.
The family of 36-year-old Salah Abbas Habib held a news conference on Sunday (April 22), after the Formula One race ended with no major protests reported.
The family said they had not been allowed to see the body immediately.
"We are sad to be parting with the most beloved member of our family, we are sad about the man who looks after nine young children, we want to make sure it wasn't him. We wanted any string of hope that might hint that Salah didn't die, because we wouldn't be able to stand it," a relative, Ali Al-Qattan said.
Some 24 hours later, a relative was allowed in but was only shown Habib's face, the family say, raising concerns of injuries on the body being hidden.
Hadi al Mousawi, human rights spokesman for Bahrain's main opposition group, WEFAQ, accused the government of holding on to the body to avoid a mass funeral spoiling the Formula One race.
"They don't want to hand over the body today, because there would have been two events, Fomula one and funeral one, they don't want the attention of the world diverted because the turnout will be huge," he said.
Habib's body was found splayed on a corrugated iron rooftop. WEFAQ said he was among a group of protesters who had been beaten by police after fierce clashes on Friday night. On Sunday the association said he died of bird-shot wounds.
Habib's death has infuriated members of Bahrain's Shi'ite Muslim majority, who say they have long been marginalised by the Sunni ruling family and have been treated brutally since the crackdown on protests last year.
The funeral for Habib could take place this week, once his body has been released to his family. It could set the stage for more riots, but it was not clear when it would be as authorities have sometimes held on to bodies for days or weeks.
Activists say Habib's death takes the total dead since a popular uprising began on February 14, 2011 to 81, including police killed last year, a figure the government disputes.
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday.
Rage boiled beyond the circuit among protesters who say the island's rulers should not have hosted the race after crushing Arab Spring demonstrations last year.
High security kept trouble well away from the track, where Red Bull's Vettel led an uneventful race before half-empty stands. Activists said police fired tear gas to prevent post-race demonstrations in Shi'ite villages around the capital. The villages have seen nightly clashes over the past week.