Manama: Bahrain says it has dismantled a terror network that targeted the country's security and stability.
The country's National Security Agency (NSA) said that it had "succeeded in foiling the network's terrorist plans to undermine national security, damage the country's stability, erode national unity, tear the social fabric, prolong violence, attack innocent people and destroy public and private property".
The agency said in a statement carried by Bahrain News Agency and Bahrain Television that the network had at least 10 leaders in charge of planning and raising funds and at least 13 heads of cells overseeing acts of sabotage in various parts of the country.
Charges against the suspects include the establishment and operation of an illegal network with the aim to disrupt the provisions of the Constitution and laws through terrorist acts, the establishment of a network to overthrow the regime and the dissemination of false and malicious propaganda to destabilise the country.
Other charges laid by the NSA included incitement to acts of rioting, organising rallies in public places, committing crimes of arson and non-compliance with the law.
According to the NSA, members of unlicensed movements Haq, Al Wafa, Objection and the London-based Bahrain Freedom Movement were involved in the formation and running of the network.
The NSA said the network had developed ties with foreign entities in order to receive financial support and provide them with "misleading and malicious" reports.
The network drew funds from religious levies and donations from religious figures and merchants in Bahrain and the Gulf, according to the charges.
