Bahrain Probe Says Police Used Excessive Force in Crackdown

Bahrain used “excessive force” as it halted protests led by the Shiite Muslim majority in February and March, a state-appointed investigation said today.

“There were instances where government forces were ordered to restrain forcefully the crowd or to remove the crowd, and in these situations excessive force was used,” the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry said in a report published on its Web site. “Five persons died as a result of torture.”