Girl Wounded in Rioting

On 3 January 2010, and during confrontations between the security forces and rioting youth, a 13-year-old girl (Fatima Mirza from Al Dayr) sustained serious injuries as a result of a sound-bomb which was arbitrarily fired into her room by rioting police. The girl fell unconscious after shattered glass entered her mouth and other parts of her body and her brother was also exposed to a large amount of tear gas whilst trying to negotiate with the police in order to move her to hospital. The girl was then taken to hospital for treatment and her family filed a complaint to the police demanding a full investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable, in addition to compensation. The Minister of Interior met with the family of the girl and expressed his apologies for this unintentional mistake, promising to investigate the matter and compensate the family financially.