MANAMA: Prosecutors have pressed terrorism charges against Shia opposition activists in Bahrain raising tensions in the run-up to an October 23 election in the Gulf state where a Sunni royal family rules a mainly Shia population.
The charge sheet released on Saturday accused the 23 activists — 10 of them prominent opposition figures — of "undermining national security."
It alleged that the "leaders of the terror network" held secret meetings in Bahrain and abroad in a bid "to change the political regime through illegal means."
Most of the suspects are members of Haq — the Movement of Liberties and Democracy — a Shia group which rejected as inadequate reforms intended to put an end to Shia-led unrest that rocked the 35 island archipelago through the 1990s.
Those reforms, enshrined in a 2002 charter, converted the Gulf emirate into a constitutional monarchy but Haq boycotted parliamentary elections in 2006 and intends to do the same next month.
Chief suspect Abduljalil Al-Singace, a prominent Haq leader who was arrested on August 14, stands accused of "running an illegitimate network," as well as "leading sabotage cells… contacting foreign organizations and providing them with false and misleading information about the kingdom."
Seven other opposition figures, who were arrested in mid August face similar charges.
They are Mohammed Saeed, a board member of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Moqdad — alias Mohammed Al-Saffaf — Sheikh Saeed Al-Nuri, Abdulghani Ali Issa Khanjar, Jaffar Al-Hessabi, Abdulhadi Al-Mokhaider and Abdulla Isa Abdulla.
Saeed is also charged with receiving "financial support from foreign parties to achieve his illegitimate goals."
Two leading opposition activists among the accused are being tried in absentia. Both Husain Mashaima, the Haq secretary general, and Saeed Al-Sheehabi, secretary general of Bahrain Freedom Islamic Movement, live in London.
Another 13 Shia activists, all in custody, are accused of "joining the network… which aims to overthrow the government and change the political and social regime of the state… (by) illegal means."
The arrests have raised tensions between the government and the mainstream Shia opposition which took part in the 2006 election, winning 17 of the 40 seats in parliament.
Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the Islamic National Accord Association, warned last month that they would "lead to more protests."
He mocked the authorities’ accusations against those arrested saying they could not have all belonged to a single secret organization as they had different opinions.
Sporadic acts of violence have hit the kingdom in recent month. A fire in a scrapyard, which the authorities said was arson, triggered last month’s arrests.
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch called on the Bahraini authorities to investigate allegations of torture made by four of those detained.
Lead suspect Singace told Bahrain’s attorney general late last month that he had been tortured by security forces while in custody over the previous 15 days, the New York-based watchdog said.
