Bahrain's Bouazzizi

Badriya Ali, a 59 year old woman from Sanabis, died on January 14 as a result of self immolation after she suffered from sever depression for months. In April 2011 security forces raided Badriya Ali's home to arrest her 25-year-old son, Ahmed Mushaima. They beat him severely in front of her, banging his head against the corner of an air conditioner repeatedly. Badriya screamed at them to stop beating her son, and an officer responded "shut up, we arrest women too". They then pulled her old sick husband from bed to arrest him, but he was too weak and fell to the ground, where they left him. Badreya fainted after watching her son being severely beaten. Before leaving, the officers wrote "long live khalifa" on the walls of her home. Some of those officers - Faisal Bakhsh, Khalid and Taher AlAlawi - also stole 4500 BD, 3 phones, a laptop and Ahmed's wallet. Since that raid, according to her daughter Zahra, Badriya went into deep depression. For a week Badriya cried continuously, after which she fell completely silent. When Badriya's son was released she got a bit better, but a couple of weeks ago their village which is constantly under excessive attacks was attacked again, and Badriya witnessed an old woman being chased by security forces in the street. Since that day Badriya was terrified, and her family had to watch her constantly. She was afraid of any small sound, convinced they would come back for her children. A couple of weeks ago Badriya told her children that she couldn't take it anymore, and to let her go to the riot police so she can be killed. Zahra says she was busy with her daughter for five minutes, only to find her mother had set herself on fire on the roof. She died of her burns today.