Bahrain to put 21 activists on trial

Anti-government protesters, some masked for protection against tear gas, watch for riot police from behind makeshift barricades, March 17, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178810.html

The Bahraini government has announced its intent to put on trial 21 people on alleged charges of subversion and complicity with a terrorist organization.

According to Bahrain's Military Public Prosecution, the National Safety Court of the state will try 21 activists that have been involved in anti-government movements across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

The prosecutors say 14 of the accused have been arrested and the rest are to be charged in absentia. Among those charged are several prominent political figures, including activist Aqeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh.

Earlier in the day, Bahraini security forces stormed into the homes of several opposition activists in the villages of Bani Jamrah and Diraz and arrested them.

This is while international lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay censured the Bahraini government for arresting hundreds of anti-government protesters and even putting doctors and nurses on trial at an ad hoc “military court.”

Regime forces have attacked dozens of mosques, schools, holy sites, and even graveyards in their efforts to suppress the opposition movement since the onset of the uprising in mid-February.

According to local sources, scores of people, including human rights activists, have been killed -- some under torture -- and hundreds of others have been held in custody.