Bahrain spends $95mn yearly on protest crackdown, report shows

The Bahraini regime spends some 95 million dollars a year to crack down on the country’s pro-democracy protesters, a new report has revealed.

The newspaper al-Maidan said on Monday that the Al Khalifa regime has hired 21,000 security forces, including Pakistani expatriates, for the crackdown.

More than 2.5 billion dollars has also been spent on arms purchase since the protests began three years ago.

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

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.

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