Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): On Sunday (February 12, 2017), a short while after the burial ceremony of the martyrs ended, martyr Rida Al-Ghasra's half brother Yaseen did not return home from the cemetery. Only he and his uncle were allowed to be present at the ceremony, as well as dig a grave for Rida and bury him, as all of Rida's other brothers are behind bars.

Rida Al-Ghasra's home was so crowded that there wasn't even one place left for someone to site. Every room and corridor of the house was flooding with mourners and tears filled the place.

Rida's mother sat in one of the main rooms of the house leaning back to the wall. Grief had overwhelmed her as she wept and repeatedly stated in regret, "I did not have even one final look at him. I did not [have the chance to] touch him, embrace him and kiss him on his forehead between his eyes..." She than raises her head and cries: "Allah shall [punish] the oppressor...Allah shall [punish] the oppressor."

"I told them to let us have a last look at him and that we want to only say farewell to him. I begged them, but they said to me, ‘we buried him a long time ago,' and then walked away as they mocked us," stressed one of the family's relatives.

"I told them when they prevented me from entering to bid farewell to my son: ‘We are weeping today and you are laughing. Tomorrow, we shall laugh and you shall weep!," warned his mother.

She stayed quiet for a moment and then said in disbelief: "They came to us with armies...armies!" Another mourner commented, "yes armies of fear."

On one of the doors, there was a picture of Rida smiling. His big smile was a common feature in all of his photos. Upon looking at his picture, one might feel a sense of joy and feel as if Rida was saying: "At last, I gained by freedom, for I wasn't born to live in this hell in that prison cell and in this cruel world."

His mother reiterates as if she heard him: "Rida has achieved what he always wanted. He achieved an eternal life...A martyr never dies. A hero never dies."

In the second room were Rida's sisters and his brothers' wives, One of them says: "We told them to only let his mother enter to see her son and bid him farewell, but they threatened us and told us to return home or else they'll beat us."

Yaseen returns from the cemetery, his face as pale as the dead. They all look at him as if they want him to tell them how Rida is. His sisters embrace him and they all weep.

Yaseen raises his head and says: "You know a year ago, our father died and Rida was not able to attend his funeral and burial.

Later on, Yaseen told his family what he witnessed and could not tell his mother and sisters at that moment. He saw three bullets that had brutally pierced his head, one in his shoulder and his torso split open.

Rida's smile and lively soul; however, radiated from his picture filling everyone around it with life despite all the bullet wounds.

Arabic Version