Bahrain’s main opposition group has criticized the Manama regime for withholding the body of a protester killed by security forces two months ago.

On Sunday, the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society issued a statement condemning the refusal by the regime to hand over the body of Abdul-Aziz al-Abbar to his family.

Abbar, 27, died on April 18, after 55 days in a coma due to injuries he suffered during crackdown on a rally held in late February in Sa’ar, a residential area west of the capital Manama. According to Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights, security forces had fired tear gas canisters and birdshots at Abbar.

The statement also said that Bahraini authorities refuse to disclose the cause of the protester’s death and hence preventing the victim’s family to bring the killers to justice.

Since mid-February 2011, thousands of protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling on the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

In March 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were called in to help Manama quash the anti-regime protests.

Scores of Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

On June 10, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) censured the Manama regime for human rights violations in Bahrain. A total of 46 members of the international body expressed deep concern over the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on peaceful protesters.

The OHCHR also condemned the imprisonment of journalists and anti-regime demonstrators. It also expressed concern over the torture of inmates, who are in jail for exercising their human rights.

IA/MAM/AS