VZCZCXRO6939
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0172 0821019
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231019Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8559
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0856
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS MANAMA 000172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ASEC BA
SUBJECT: DEATH OF PAKISTANI ATTACKED BY SHIA PROTESTERS 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 149 
     ¶B. MANAMA 57 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: A Pakistani man died March 21 from burns 
suffered in a Molotov cocktail attack during protests at the 
detention of Haq Movement leaders.  Five Shia youths may face 
murder charges and a possible death sentence.  Sunnis and 
moderate Shia have condemned the violence.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Pakistani Shaikh Mohammed Riyadh died March 21 from 
burns he suffered March 7 when roughly a dozen masked Shia 
protesters threw Molotov cocktails at his pickup truck in the 
Shia village of Ma'ameer.  The masked men were setting fires 
and fighting with riot police in protest at the continuing 
detention of Haq movement leaders (ref A).  Authorities 
arrested five Shia shortly after the attack and, charged them 
with arson.  After Riyadh's death, General Abdullatif Al 
Zayani, chief of the national police, told media that the 
perpetrators would be charged under the 2006 counterterrorism 
law.  An unnamed Interior Ministry official told one local 
paper that the five have now also been charged with murder. 
(Note: Under Bahraini law, they could face a death sentence 
if convicted of murder.  End Note.) 
 
¶3. (U) Mainstream Shia leaders condemned the attack.  Sheikh 
Issa Qassim, Bahrain's pre-eminent Shia cleric, reminded his 
followers that bloodshed or destruction of public property 
are forbidden.  The mainstream Shia Wifaq party, which had 
condemned the attack previously (ref A), reiterated its 
stance in a statement issued by Vice-Chairman Khalil Marzooq 
following news of Riyadh's death. 
 
¶4. (U) Sunnis have, of course, also condemned the attack. 
Shura Council member and president of the Bahrain Human 
Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) Faisal Fulad accused the 
unlicensed Haq movement and Shia activist Abdul Wahab Hussein 
of inciting violence against expatriate workers.  Several 
Sunni editorialists criticized Wifaq leaders for not moving 
quickly enough to condemn the attack. 
 
¶5. (U) Rumors persist that Riyadh was actually observing the 
disturbance on behalf of the police or the Bahrain National 
Security Agency (BNSA).despite denials by both the government 
and the shipping company Unicorp International, Riyadh's 
employer.  Radical Shia voices have stepped up their web 
campaign.  For example, the blog Bahrainonline.org has posted 
a list of 1,047 people it claims are BNSA employees, many of 
whom are of Pakistani origin.  (Riyadh's name was not on the 
list.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  Small clashes between police and radical 
Shia are constant here, but deaths and serious injuries are 
rare.  Even among the more radical minority of Shia who 
support Haq, Riyadh's death will prompt many to turn away 
from the movement.  Meanwhile, extremists in the Sunni 
community will seek to discredit even moderate Shia by 
unfairly blaming them for this violence. 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
HENZEL