UN rights chief condemns Libya, Bahrain crackdowns

GENEVA – The U.N.'s top human rights official has condemned the violence used by security forces in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen against anti-government protesters.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says security forces responded in an "illegal and excessively heavy-handed" manner against peaceful demonstrators.

In a statement issued by her office Friday, she condemned the use of live ammunition against protesters in Libya, the use of electric tasers and batons in Yemen, and the use of military-grade shotguns in Bahrain.

Pillay says "particularly egregious are the targeted attacks on journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and even, in the case of Bahrain, doctors and medical personnel attending to injured protesters."