Bahrain on Wednesday (July 26th) charged 60 people with forming a "terrorist group", as authorities tighten their grip on dissent in the kingdom, AFP reported.
The 60 face a mass trial, scheduled to open on August 22nd, for charges including "forming a terrorist group, training in the use of weapons and explosives with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks and the deliberate killing of policemen", public prosecutor Ahmad al-Hamadi said.
Thirteen of the defendants have "fled to Iran, Iraq and Germany" and will be tried in absentia, state news agency BNA reported.
The government accuses neighbouring Tehran of provoking dissent in the tiny kingdom, located in the Gulf between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.
