Bahrain announced Tuesday it convicted 51 people, more than half of them abroad, on charges of belonging to a militant group. It was the latest mass trial conducted in this island kingdom amid a yearlong crackdown on all dissent.
Bahrain described those convicted as belonging to an unnamed militant group that received orders from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. It alleged that the Guard supplied weapons and funding to aid the group in plans to potentially target "economic and vital installations, security patrol sites, the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and (the) Bahrain Defense Force."
However, Bahrain said some of those arrested had targeted a bank ATM and a transportation company, while others allegedly possessed gasoline bombs and other items. The arrests took place last year, the statement said.