MANAMA: Bahrain’s king ordered an end to the emergency rule imposed in mid-March to quell a wave of anti-government protests as leading opposition figures went on trial Sunday for plotting against the Gulf state’s monarchy.
Bahrain state TV said the state of emergency will end June 1 in line with a royal decree. The lifting of the martial laws – two weeks before the three-month emergency rule’s official expiry – seemed to reflect the rulers’ determination to again showcase the kingdom as stable and able to host international events like the Formula One race.

Since martial law was imposed March 15, authorities have been aggressively pursuing Shiite opposition supporters who staged weeks of street marches earlier this year, demanding greater freedoms, equal rights and an elected government.
Hundreds of protesters, activists, political leaders and Shiite professionals such as doctors and lawyers have been detained.

The 21 opposition leaders and political activists who went on trial Sunday in a special security court set up under the emergency rule face charges of attempting to overthrow the Sunni monarchy.
Fourteen members of the group are in custody. The others were charged in absentia. During Sunday’s closed-door court proceedings, the 21 defendants pleaded not guilty. Another hearing was set for Thursday.
The allegations include seeking to topple the 200-year-old Sunni monarchy and having links to “a terrorist organization abroad working for a foreign country.” No additional details were made public, but Bahrain’s leaders have claimed that Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah is involved in Bahrain’s protests.
At least 30 people have been killed since members of Bahrain’s Shiite majority took their grievances to the streets in February.

Among those charged Sunday are senior opposition leaders such as Hassan Mushaima, the leader of Al-Haq movement, and some of its senior members including Abdul Jalil al-Singace.
Mushaima and al-Singace were among the first political leaders taken into custody after emergency rule was imposed. The two men were among 25 Shiite activists on trial last year on charges of trying to overthrow the nation’s Sunni rulers.
The case was dropped in March to calm tensions in the kingdom, and Mushaima – who was tried in absentia – returned from a self-imposed exile in London to support the uprising.
Shiites have long been demanding a greater political voice and rights, equal to those of the Sunni members of the tiny Gulf nation. Shiites comprise about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, but are excluded from top government and security posts.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, the kingdom’s leading human rights activist, was among those charged Sunday. He was beaten unconscious by police before being taken from his house in the capital, Manama, along with his two sons-in-law last month, according to relatives who witnessed the raid.
Also charged Sunday were Ibrahim Sharif, a prominent Sunni leader in the Shiite-led opposition, and Ali Abdul Emam, a blogger and founder of a popular discussion forum Bahrain-On-Line.
Last week authorities charged 23 doctors and 24 nurses with participating in illegal rallies or attempts to topple the ruling Al-Khalifa family.

Some of the medical staff who treated protesters during the political unrest will be tried in the same security court. Only select journalists are allowed to cover the trials after authorities put a gag order on legal proceedings against suspected opposition supporters.
Later this month, three former top editors of Bahrain’s main opposition newspaper, Al-Wasat, will be tried in a criminal court on charges of unethical coverage of the protests.

Iran’s Salehi in UAE over Gulf tension

ABU DHABI: Iran’s foreign minister held talks Sunday with top officials in the United Arab Emirates amid tension between Gulf Arab states and Tehran over trouble in Bahrain, Emirati state news agency said.
Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, received Ali Akbar Salehi in the capital Abu Dhabi, WAM said of the previously unannounced visit.
Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, who has criticized Iran’s policy in the region, was present at the meeting, it said.
Sheikh Mohammed praised during the meeting the “wisdom of the Bahraini leadership” in dealing with protests, WAM said, adding that he highlighted the “distinguished links” between Iran and the UAE.
Tension has been running high between Iran and its Arab neighbors across the Gulf, with the two sides locked in a war of words since Shiite-led protests against Bahrain’s ruling Sunni dynasty broke out in mid-February.
Iranian media said that Salehi reiterated during the talks his call for Gulf troops to be pulled out of Bahrain and to respond to the “legitimate demands” of the Bahraini people.
“The entrance of foreign troops into Bahrain and intervention in the internal affairs of this nation has made the situation more complicated and continuation of this policy will only lead to intensifying the crisis,” Salehi said.