Key Shiite opposition figure tried in Bahrain

The trial of Sheikh Abdul Ameer al-Jamri, one of the prominent Shiite opposition figures in Bahrain, started on Sunday in Manama. Al-Jamri is accused of playing a main role in anti-government acts inside Bahrain.

AFP quoted a judicial source in Manama as saying that al-Jamri's trial started before the state security court in al-Jaw district, southern Bahrain.

Al-Jamri is one of 8 Shiite leaders who were detained on January 21, 1996 under charges that they played a role in the acts of violence periodically carried out in Bahrain since December 1994, which have so far resulted in killing 38 persons.