Bahraini Shias charged with ‘terrorism’

14 October, 2010 10:58

Bahraini-Shias-Torture Bahraini women and children hold up pictures of their captured relatives

Some 23 activists arrested as part of a clampdown on Shia political opposition in Bahrain have been charged with “terrorism and conspiring against the government.”

The men will face trial on October 28 on the charge of “spreading false information and forming an illegal group,” said Prosecutor General Â Abdul-Rahman al-Sayed on Wednesday.

The Shia activists could face sentences as harsh as life imprisonment if convicted.

Bahrain’s Sunni-dominated government has intensified its crackdown on the country’s majority Shia population, arresting dozens of opposition figures on the allegation of planning to topple the Bahraini government.

Amnesty International says more than 250 people, believed to be in detention, are at the risk of being tortured.

The detentions come ahead of the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections on October 23.

Human Rights Watch has also accused Bahrain of restricting movement and travel of human rights activists in an effort to prevent them from spreading the word about the arrest of opposition members.

“There is a continuous war against all Shias who are critics of the government,” Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, told Press TV on Monday.

Many of the opposition detainees — including religious figures — were tortured and sexually assaulted, he further explained.

The population of Bahrain is predominantly Shia. However, they have long complained about being discriminated against by the Sunni-dominated government in obtaining jobs and receiving services.