Hundreds mourn Bahrain protester

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Bahrain on Saturday for the funeral of a young protester killed as security forces were dispersing demonstrators near an American naval base.

The violence occurred just days before an international panel is due to release a highly anticipated report on the unrest that has killed more than 30 people since February.

"Our boy was dead and they left him laying on the street for hours," the uncle said before his nephew's funeral in Bahrain's oil hub of Sitra on Saturday.

A report by the state-run Bahrain News Agency said a police vehicle skidded into a group of "rioters... committing acts of sabotage" due to an oil spill on the road, killing the boy. The BNA report said authorities are investigating the incident that occurred just before 1:00 a.m. Saturday.

The five-member panel is headed by Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, an Egyptian-born professor of international criminal law and a former member of U.N. human rights panels. It was set up in July with the consent of Bahrain's rulers.

Over the past months, the panel received more than 8,000 complaints, testimonies and documents. Its members have interviewed more than 5,000 witnesses and alleged victims of the unrest, including detainees, police personnel, doctors and journalists.
 

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