MANAMA, April 21: Bahrain’s opposition on Saturday reported the first death in protests timed for this weekend’s Grand Prix as the kingdom imposed a security lockdown around the Sakhir Formula One racing circuit.

The body of Salah Abbas Habib, 36, was found in Shakhura village, where security forces overnight “attacked peaceful protesters, brutally beating some of them with various tools and weapons”, said Al-Wefaq, the Gulf state’s largest Shia opposition bloc.

It alleged that “security forces killed him one day before the final round of the F1 races hosted by Bahrain,” without saying how he died.

In a statement, the interior ministry confirmed that “the body of a deceased person was found in Shakhura today” and said it had “a wound to his left side”.

It added that police have begun an investigation into the death, which was being considered a murder.

“The government condemns all acts of violence and will ensure the perpetrators of this crime, whoever they may be, will be brought to justice,” the ministry quoted Public Security Chief Major General Tariq al-Hassan as saying. —AFP