On February 14, 2011, Bahrainis turned out in a mass protest for rights and reform. In the following days, they would defy security forces to set up a camp at the iconic Pearl Roundabout near the capital Manama.
A month later, Bahrain’s police, supported by troops from Saudi Arabia, overran Pearl Roundabout. More than 80 people would be killed in the attempt to suppress the protests. Hundreds of others would be detained.
Some opposition leaders are still in prison. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, the founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, is serving a life sentence; his daughter Zainab is also behind bars. Nabeel Rajab, the President of the BCHR was detained in July 2012; Saad Yousif, the BCHR Vice-President, left Bahrain last year after repeated arrests and threats.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the regime and the main opposition party, Al Wefaq, have brought no advance.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Bahrainis marched again:
