The statement came after two Bahraini rights groups told AFP that more than 200 people, the vast majority of them from the Shia community, had been arrested since the beginning of the war. "The suggestion that Bahrain is targeting its citizens based on religious identity is categorically false and inflammatory," Bahrain's National Communication Centre said in a statement to AFP. "Charges have been brought because of specific, evidenced conduct -- including espionage, dissemination of enemy propaganda, and incitement to violence," it said. Rights groups told AFP that lawyers had had a difficult time reaching their clients. Sunni-ruled Bahrain is home, like neighbouring Iran, to a large Shia community that has long complained of marginalisation.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 28, 2026 10:29 UTC