Bahrain protesters mark Arab Spring 2nd anniversary

Security forces in Bahrain shot dead a teenage boy on Thursday as protesters marked the second anniversary of the failed Arab Spring uprising. The shooting happened in a small village near the capital Manama after a radical underground group called for a general strike and a day of civil disobedience. Earlier in the week, riot police were deployed to disperse demonstrators and clashes broke out when tea gas was fired. The main opposition continues to demand the freeing of dozens of political prisoners, who were detained two years ago. Seven of them were interviewed by Amnesty International at Bahrain’s Jaw prison last month. All of them say they’ve been jailed on false charges or under laws that repress basic rights. The human rights group also released a video from Maryam Abu Deeb, the daughter of one prisoner, Mahdi Abe Deeb, who is the president of the Bahrain Teachers Association. “My dad has been prisoned now for two years, sentenced to five years for exercising his right to freedom of expression,” she recounted. Dozens of people were killed during February and March 2011 when the original uprising took hold. Human rights groups claim security forces used excessive force as they attempted to quash the protests. Many prisoners were allegedly tortured in the first weeks of their arrests.