Security forces have been battling Shi’ite protesters in the Manama area and arresting leading organizers in a campaign to foil what some officials fear could lead to an armed insurgency in Bahrain. They said the Interior Ministry has targeted leading Shi’ite dissidents believed to be directing or inciting the violence.
On Saturday, the government said it would prosecute two leading Shi’ite activists on charges of sedition. A government statement, carried by the official Bahrain News Agency, did not identify the defendants, but Shi’ite opposition sources identified the detainees as Hassan Mushaima and Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja.
"Their behavior is an act indicted by law as it aims to bring about unrest, damage public interests and jeopardize security by disseminating groundless rumors and destructive slogans, which can benefit only those who do not like welfare and stability to prevail in the country," Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Col. Mohammed Rashid Bu Hammoud said.
