| Bahraini security forces dispersed dozens of protesters demanding the release of a human rights activist in Manama on Thursday night after arresting a number of protesters outside the capital, an AFP correspondent reported. The protesters converged on the Bahraini capital from two outlying areas in a convoy of cars to demand the release of Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, vice-president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, who is being tried on charges of "inciting hatred against the regime." Police cut off roads after the convoy pulled up to a district close to the US embassy, forcing the demonstrators to get off their cars and continue their protest on the streets. Riot police were deployed and a helicopter buzzed overhead but the demonstrators dispersed after one and a half hours without force being used. Earlier, witnesses reported that a number of protesters in the convoy of cars heading into Manama from Hamad Town, to the south of the capital, were arrested. Thursday's demonstration was the latest in a series of protests. |