Bahrain will give compensation totaling $2.6 million to families for the deaths of 17 relatives last year during the Arab Spring protests that swept over the small island nation.
The payments, which average out to around $153,000 per case, are being handed out in accordance with an independent investigative report that was produced by a commission last year, according to a statement from the Kingdom of Bahrain. It did not specify which families would receive the money.
“The initiative aims to benefit the families of the deceased, those who suffered physical injury, and any other cases deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Justice,” the statement reads.
At the same time, Bahrain is bringing a murder charge to three police officers involved with shooting deaths during the protests last year.
The high court has issued “charges against three police men originally charged with ... manslaughter in the deaths of three men in February and March of 2011,” the Bahrain Information Affairs Authority said in two tweets on Tuesday.
Around 50 people were killed when violence erupted during street protests in last year’s unrest. There were near-daily protests for months, with mainly Shi'ites demonstrating against the Sunni monarchy.
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